


Break Me

by CultMother



Series: The 'Me' Series [1]
Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationships, Accidental Drug Use, Addiction, Aftermath of Violence, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Anal Sex, Attempted Abortion, Attempted Kidnapping, Attempted Murder, Attempted Sexual Assault, Bad Cooking, Bad Decisions, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Bloodlust, Breaking Up & Making Up, Breaking and Entering, Broken Promises, CHECK OUT THE THEME, COME TO THE DISCORD, Camping, Car Sex, Cheating, Child Abuse, Comfort Sex, Complain, Consensual Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, Daddy Issues, Declarations Of Love, Denial of Feelings, Developing Relationship, Discovery, Doesn't, Domestic Violence, Drug Abuse, Drunk Sex, EXTREMELY LONG FIC, Embarrassment, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Infidelity, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Roller Coaster, Emotional Sex, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Emotionally Repressed, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Falling In Love, Father-Daughter Relationship, Feelings Realization, Fetish, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Forbidden Love, Force Choking, Forced Bonding, Forced Eye Contact, Forced Marriage, Forced Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gang Violence, Gen, Gore, Gun Violence, Hate Sex, Hate to Love, Hiding in Plain Sight, Hurt/Comfort, I will forever continue to add tags i am the tag god, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Injury, Injury Recovery, Jealousy, Kidnapping, LIKE MAYBE 500+ CHAPTERS, Lemon, Long-Distance Relationship, Long-Term Relationship(s), Love, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Lovers to Friends, M/M, MMFM, Major Character Injury, Medicinal Drug Use, Mild Gore, Minor Injuries, Morning Cuddles, Multi, Murder, Non-Consensual, Non-Consensual Blood Drinking, Non-Consensual Blow Jobs, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Non-Consensual Bondage, Non-Consensual Cuddling, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Oral Sex, Non-Consensual Somnophilia, Non-Consensual Spanking, Non-Consensual Touching, Non-Consensual Violence, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, On-Again/Off-Again Relationship, Oral Sex, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Orgasm Denial, Other, PAAAAAAIN, Painkillers, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Relationship(s), People, Permanent Injury, Physical Abuse, Please Don't Hate Me, Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Psychological Torture, Public Claiming, Public Humiliation, Public Sex, ROUND 2. BEGIN!, Realization, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex, SO, Secret Crush, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Acceptance, Self-Defense, Self-Denial, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Self-Indulgent, Self-Sacrifice, Semi-Public Sex, Serious Injuries, Setting Zombies on Fire, Sex, Sex Addiction, Sex on a Car, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Sexual Violence, Shower Sex, Sleepy Cuddles, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Someone - Freeform, Sometimes fluffy, Strangers to Lovers, Substance Abuse, Suffering, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, Tags, Threats of Violence, Toxic Relationship, Undecided Relationship(s), Unrequited Love, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Vaginal Sex, Verbal Abuse, WE'RE ONLY ON PHASE ONE AND I CAN'T SEE IT ENDING ANYTIME SOON, Wall Sex, We're back again. Thank you so much for being patient and waiting for Break Me's Break to be over!, Who, about, but WE do get idiots who read and complain, but all these tags, complain about, even after reading the tags, even if it says a lot about sex it's not all about sex it has a plot i promise, falling, for, get ready for the paintrain, hatefuck, i have a box of tissues for the weak hearted, i really like cuddles okay, if you've read this far i should give you a medal, im not joking lmao, its, keeping secrets, mostly pain, okay i found them thanks for just you know reading all these tags you're pretty cool you know?, or they think I'm joking, paaaaaaaaaaain, pickle daddy, the, the content, theyre either really stupid, those, who do they apply to, you wont know unless you read
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-10-30 05:01:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 41
Words: 76,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10869627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CultMother/pseuds/CultMother
Summary: It was never meant to go this far. It shouldn't have lasted this long. She knew she should stop, that their relationship should be purely professional, but there was something so addicting about breaking the rules with him that she couldn't.But soon, he'll break her. She's always been strong-willed and stubborn. With him, there's something different in the air.God, what has she gotten herself into this time?** Warning; this fanfiction aims to be highly realistic regarding character traits. It will not cut corners, and it will show you the dark side of Gorillaz. Sometimes, in your chest, when you meet a bad guy yet he does something so sweet and you can't bring yourself to walk away, you just can't. You will watch a human being break. It will not happen right away. But when she does break, it will get ugly. Perhaps, if you're an empath like I am, you will feel her suffering and pain. I will try to be as realistic and as in character as possible with this. However, if you can't handle pain, I don't suggest reading this.**THEME SONG; http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Us8S2t3cY





	1. Pre-Phase One, Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Boo. ♥ I couldn't wait to get started on this~ 
> 
> This chapter's song is 21-GUNS, by Green Day.  
> https://youtu.be/qcOK_YATp6U
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment or some kudos!  
> I LOVE talking. I'll love talking to you.  
> Please talk to me I'm so lonely. D:
> 
> Also, forgive me... this fanfiction will have a REALLY slow start. It starts just before Phase One! Also, the chapters start off with 1,000-2,000 words. As we go on, the word count will get higher.  
> For real, comment! You'll make my day, love!

  

A car sped by on the highway as she stared up at the building surrounded by a graveyard. Birds tweeted away, the clouds shifting and rolling as she took a deep breath and inhaled the scent of the city which was intoxicating. This wasn't like country air, no, but it was city life; something she'd never get used to. She gripped the newspaper ad in her hand. Purely local, since she doubted they really wanted to do many interviews. The people who lived here really struck her as lazy. She'd have to remember their names, research lyrics to their songs, blah blah blah. She didn't really find any interest in them.

As she pushed open the gate it seemingly screamed, the rust on its hinges creating that squeaking sound that she knew and loved. It reminded her of her home back where there was nothing but trees; the back door as she'd let Lacy out for a quick breather and... she was getting lost in the past. Tears threatened to drip at the corner of her eyes, but she held them back and bit her lip as everything inside her almost crumbled down. That life was gone now.

She was stronger.

Trudging through the graveyard was bad enough, including the stupid damn hill they decided to set the recording studio on. God, this place was so edgy. She'd never known a band to do something like this. She'd done a bit of research and it seemed like weird things happened around them; the bassist, Murdick, she thought his name was, had somewhat of a colorful past with all his crime sprees. A no-good man in any way.

It was November 28th. It had not been very long since these guys moved in, yet they were already looking for someone to help. She wasn't a maid, per say. Actually, she was more of a live-in assistant. Cook their meals, clean their messes, set appointments and help with anything they might- Okay, so that sounded a lot like a maid. But, free place to stay and money? She couldn't argue with that. Rent was fucking shit, she was desperate and in debt. Also, getting off the streets would offer protection from the people she'd borrowed money from until she could raise enough to buy her soul back. By her soul, she meant freedom.

She'd try to keep her dignity with this job to the best of her ability. Might be a little difficult, though.

She'd finally climbed to the top, her legs sore. God, she hoped she wouldn't have to walk up and down this hill if she was hired; especially with groceries. She quickly rung the doorbell and straightened her posture. Static roared to life and she heard the voice of a man. "Who're you, eh? Wasn't expecting any visitors." Chills ran down her spine as she licked her lips, opening her mouth to speak.

"My name is Rose. Rose Judith Badling." Rose stared directly through the foggy glass doors, realizing she couldn't quite see the man on the other side besides his silhouette.

"What's it to me? You a fan?" He asked, crudely. She somewhat wanted to walk away, but she needed this job...

"I'm here about that ad in the paper. You're looking for an assistant?"

"We already have our assistant, go away."

"Please wait." She begged, pressing her hand against the glass as the figure turned to walk away. It turned back to her but said nothing. "I really, desperately need this job. I know that you have an assistant but is there anything else I can do?! Please."

She heard a sharp inhale as a buzzer went off and the man pulled open the door. She came face to face with him and realized his skin was an unsightly shade of green. Holy hell, what on earth had happened to this man?! Her mouth almost dropped open. "You get to explain to the dork why we're dropping him for a... damn, a brunette bombshell." He leaned against the door and hooked his fingers into his belt, one arm against the door. "Baby, if I knew you looked like that I'd have opened the door sooner."

"If I knew you looked like that, I'd have begged you to keep the door shut." Before realizing how rudely she'd just treated her new boss after what he did for her she gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth. Damn her attitude issues. He, however, laughed it off and shrugged.

"You'll come around, they all do." He waved her inside and Rose followed, making sure to keep her mouth shut this time around. The place was a mess already and they hadn't even been here for thirty days yet. "Got any luggage? Need to haul it up the hill?"

She shook her head. She'd lost all of her possessions to debt and the only thing she had left were the clothes on her back. He stared at her for a moment before screaming, "GET THE FUCK DOWN 'ERE, 2D! BRING THE ASSISTANT."

A couple of minutes later, descending the stairs, a man with blue hair and shockingly black eyes that looked like there were no eyes there hopped off the final step. Following him looked like a meek skinny guy.

"Get out of 'ere. You're fired."

"But-"

"She begged for it. Get lost." He pushed the assistant towards the door, who shot a glare at Rose, biting down on his cheek. He'd be back and he'd get revenge for this.

"What was wrong with the guy we hired, Murdoc?" From his blank stare, Rose could tell the blue-haired boy, possibly 2-D, had a few screws lose.

"2-D... Having a man for an assistant isn't the way the world is meant to go. She makes us look better. How old are you, babe?"

The man, now labeled as Murdoc in her head, grinned at her. God, these boys had poor dental hygiene. "I'm nineteen. My name is Rose, by the way." Rose stepped towards 2-D and extended her hand to shake his. He shook it, giving her a genuine smile.

"Stuart Pot, but I like 2-D more. Nice to meet you!" He seemed so kind. A little scatterbrained and absent-minded, surely, but still. "What kinda music do you like to listen to, Rose?"

"I'm not all that into music, you see. I don't have a talent for it and some people say I'm deaf simply because I dislike music."

"Dislike music? Why the hell would you take a job at a recording studio if you dislike music?" Murdoc pitched in, raising his eyebrow. "Isn't that retarded? Are you a retard?" Damn, this dick would be an abusive boss for sure. "An' you. Don't you have Paula to shag with? Get off the new girl's case."

"I.. I'm not.." 2-D turned pale. His head swiveled around and his eyes widened. "I'm so sorry. I need to go find my girlfriend now." He backed away before running up the stairs, tripping on the third step. Rose watched in wonder as he crawled up the stairs with a yelp as Murdoc let out a growl in his direction.

"If anyone is getting with you, it's me. Remember that." Rose shrugged and Murdoc growled again before slamming his fist into the elevator's 'up' button. As the doors opened, he waved her into the elevator. She cautiously stepped in, trying not to stare at him nor ask why his skin was green. Maybe it was painted? God, her curiosity won.

"Are you fully green?"

"What?" He stared at her for a moment, trying to discern what she meant. Then he looked down and laughed, gesturing to his body. "If you want, we can take a detour to the crib within the crib, my love shack, and find out." Rose's face turned a little red at that comment. God, was this man always like this? She didn't think she'd be able to handle it. It was actually somewhat annoying.

The elevator dinged, and it opened. A wide man stood before her, a little taller than her. Rose stood at 5'6, but she felt like he towered above her.

Her hair could be in better condition but she was more focused on her safety and home status than her appearance

"And this big fellow 'ere is Russel. He's our drummer." She offered to shake his hand but quickly withdrew it when all he did was grunt, a little scared of his eyes. Murdoc chuckled and a woman, followed by 2-D, walked down the hall with his arm around her shoulder looking a little like she didn't want to be there. "That's Paula Cracker, our guitarist, and 2-D's gal." A small smile appeared on her lips when Murdoc said her name; it was a little weird to see her smile because when 2-D was touching her she looked like she was about to fall asleep. Rose smiled at 2-D and he gave her a toothy smile back. Honestly, he's kind of cute, Rose thought.

His eyes were unique and Rose kind of wanted to just sit there and stare into them, even if that was a little strange. Although, he had a girlfriend. Looked like he was off the table in terms of flirting, sadly.

Murdoc gestured down the hall, passing by 2-D and bumping into his shoulder, causing him to fall over. Paula simply scoffed and looked down at her phone, leaving Rose absolutely bewildered. Rose offered her hand to 2-D, who took it as she helped him up. Murdoc glared at 2-D before grabbing her arm tightly and pulling Rose towards the direction he'd intended for her to go from the beginning. "Let's go, I don't have all day." It somewhat hurt and she yanked her arm out of his grip, rubbing it.

That should have triggered a massive red flag in Rose's head, but it didn't. She shrugged it off and followed him the rest of the way. He opened a door, leading her into a somewhat dark room, flicking on the light. It had an old blue worn-down carpet with patches of carpet missing. As the light flickered to life, a bulb hanging on a wire, it almost went out entirely. "Be careful with the light, takes a while to stop flickering." Rose nodded as she explored the room with her eyes, taking in the beautiful sight of her new home. Wasn't the prettiest place, but hey, it was a place. The closet door was caved in and only one was functional, while the duck wallpaper was peeling off the walls. She dropped onto the bed, sighing. Murdoc leaned against the wall. "You'll be paid 250$ a week. You should be available anytime, Rose. Also, we're more active during the night rather than the day. Try to clean shit before nighttime so we can mess it all up again for the next day, okay?" What an asshole. "See ya tomorrow."

It was pretty shit pay for the contents of the job, but hey, it was still money. With his little informational monologue, he was gone, out of the room faster than he'd dragged Rose in.

As soon as she wrapped herself in the very used blanket, with wool-scratchy texture, she fell asleep, positive she was safe here. Rose could finally get back on her feet.

She'd never been more wrong in her life. This job, these people, would destroy her.


	2. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, loves! God, I'd never expected this to blow up so fast! Sssh, 35 reads & 4 kudos within THREE HOURS?! When I posted at MIDNIGHT? That's amazing! Thank you all so much, you're all amazing!  
> Anyways, the chapter, right? Well, I do hope you enjoy. ♥  
> As for the song for this chapter...  
> DRUMROLL PLEASE...!  
> https://youtu.be/IrdI2iC-sYY  
> It's... NOVEMBER HAS COME!  
> A Gorillaz track!  
> I love November Has Come, the rap part too, and I normally hate rap. There's something about the melancholy of the Gorillaz that just fills me with peace and calm; I've fallen asleep to their tracks many times. How does November Has Come make you feel? Feel free to tell me~ I'd love to have a conversation with you!

Barely conscious and with a pounding head, Rose quickly sat up in bed, only to remember what had gone down in the events of the night before. There was no professionalism, but then again all the better. Best not to need to show whether or not she killed a man, ha.

She quickly got out of bed, and seeing and envelope on the floor in front of her door she leaned down, ripping it open to reveal $250, with a note.

Get yourself a little something-something. Murdoc said ya came here with nothing, right? Consider this an advance on your pay! : )

From, 2-D!!!!

God, he was so sweet! She quickly shoved the money into her back pocket as she stood to her feet, opening the door. Loud music pounded from above and a broken clock on the wall read 6:34 AM. She must have gone to bed at seven last night.

Rose took a deep breath as she navigated the halls of Kong Studios, getting sorely lost. Thirty minutes later she must've been doing something right because she found her way to the kitchen, which Rose found to be in an extremely disgusting state.

She shuddered, stepping around piles of dishes. This would take forever to clean... she really didn't want to. Rose got on her knees, pulling open the doors underneath the sink with much strain as they seemed to be crusted shut with what looked like year-old milk between the top of the cupboard door and the cupboard. Mold grew along the pipe and walls of the cupboard but there was her goal; a perfectly unused, unopened package of garbage bags. She ripped it open and quickly replaced the overstuffed garbage with a new, empty garbage bag.

She dragged the bag across the floor, groaning when it left a trail of liquid that Rose honestly did not want to identify. How could they live like this? Like animals?!

Rose left the garbage by the door, knowing fully that the liquid would pool anyways. Besides, she didn't know where to put it. She'd have better luck finding a janitor's closet than a dumpster in here.

With much time and even more hard work, she'd finally cleaned the kitchen's piles of dishes but the filth remained. She'd sorted out the cabinets and thrown out any broken dishes, which there were a surprising amount of. She found a closet behind a pile of dishes which held a bunch of cleaning supplies and a pantry, which was unused. Unsurprisingly.

Using the mop failed. It was like the layer of filth was glued to the floor, so she had to switch to her hand and knees with a sponge and scrub away. It took about half an hour to properly clean the floor like that.

There was a gasp from the door and she looked up to see 2-D. "Wooooah, this place is looking better than it has since we moved in!" He was like a kid in a candy store, exploring the cupboards to find where everything was. Rose smiled at him and he smiled back before absentmindedly going about his business in the kitchen. She dumped out the bucket of water she'd prepared for the mop and refilled it, just now getting to the counters. "So... you do these types of things often?"

"No," Rose responded, "I normally don't do anything even close to this. It's a bit of a first for me."

"Same here. I mean, I don't think I'd be able to do what you're doing."

"I don't think if I thought about it I'd be able to do it either." She laughed, shrugging. "It's a bit much, don't you think? Why do you guys let it get this messy?"

2-D blankly gazed at her. At least, Rose thought he was looking at her. She couldn't tell with his... sockets? Eyeballs? Whatever they were. It seemed like he was thinking, though. "Uh... uhhhhh... I don't know why. Why do you clean it up?"

"Because that's my job, 2-D." Rose knew now that 2-D wasn't the fastest person in terms of thinking processes. But still, even if he was a little slow, he was the sweetest person she'd met in a long while.

"Hey, 2-D, do you know where the bathrooms are? And I also need to throw these out," Rose gestured to the two garbage bags she'd filled with trash, "But I don't know where to take them."

"Oh, I can take 'em for you! And the bathroom is just four doors down from the kitchen. You should find it pretty easily, but come back and wait for me if you don't." Before she could protest, he hauled both bags over his shoulders and hauled them out of the room, leaving her to find the bathrooms.

As she walked down the hall a strange sound could be heard coming from her destination; she felt a bit hesitant to check it out, but still, she really needed to pee. She trotted into the bathroom but stopped when she witnessed something she really wished she hadn't.

Paula was slammed against the wall of cubicle three by none other than Murdoc Niccals, who was aggressively thrusting into the guitarist. She was letting out moans, her eyes closed and face smooshed against the wall. Rose's jaw dropped as Murdoc moaned, opening his eyes. He glanced her way and gave her a smile, staring straight into her eyes as he bucked his hips against Paula's. Rose wanted to look away but something about this scene had her lock onto his eyes.

He groaned. "It's coming," He breathed, speeding up his thrusts as he stared at Rose. The slapping sounds got louder as he did so and his moans progressively grew longer. The only thing that tore Rose's eyes away from this scene was Russel, who barrelled in and tore Murdoc right out of Paula, who screamed and covered herself. She covered her eyes, not wanting to see anymore. Rose realized that she was so in shock at witnessing something as tainted as what he just did. Paula was with 2-D. Oh god, what on earth would she tell him?! But it wasn't her place, right...? She barely knew any of these guys so the responsibility didn't fall on her shoulders.

There was a loud crack as Russel's fist smashed into Murdoc's nose. Paula screamed and Russel continued his assault on Murdoc, with several more punches.

All the while, Murdoc just laughed. Rose quickly dashed out of the bathroom, absolutely scarred. Her first day and she witnessed something she wasn't supposed to. Would Murdoc be okay?! Dashing back into the supplies closet she procured a first aid kit to which she rushed back to the bathroom with as Russel was pulling Paula out of it by the arm. "Please, please don't tell 2-D!" She begged, tears at the corners of her eyes.

"I'm not telling 2-D. You are." His gaze was extremely judgemental, but he looked at Rose and nodded to her in passing. Nodding back, she walked into the bathroom, where Murdoc was lying on his back, blood streaming from both of his nostrils. He chuckled.

"So, new girl, you caught me having a shag with a slag." He gave a twisted smile which caused Rose to sigh and shake her head, kneeling and opening the first aid kid. Murdoc sat up, his pants at his ankles. She tried her best to shield herself from the view.

"Can you please put that away?" Rose asked, getting nervous, to which Murdoc only shrugged and let it all hang out, ignoring her request. She shook her head and began to tend to his nose.

"Relax, I don't bite." He stared her down as she wiped the blood away and quickly sterilized it, before turning to get something to plug up his nose with. She needed to get him to a hospital. However, as Rose tried to get up she heard a crack; Murdoc was setting his own nose back and getting up, which was not something you saw someone do every day without a pained face. The shock on Rose's face was probably easy to see as he laughed. "What? Never seen a man set his own broken nose back in place before?"

Rose shook her head. "No. I haven't. Also... your nose looks a little, a lot, different now."

He turned to the mirror and gazed into it, touching his nose. She thought he'd get massively angry but his reaction was unexpected. "Oh, fuck yeah. That is sssssooo metal, babe. It's perfect. It's fuckin' great!" God, this man was actually a fucking crazy psycho. Rose wondered if she should worry for her own safety, especially since the band seemed to be a little... unbalanced in term of disputes.

"Why would you do that with Paula? She had 2-D." Murdoc stopped laughing and turned to Rose with a grimace on his face, showing that he disapproved of the subject.

"Rubbish. She was absolute rubbish. Here I was, having a piss in the toilets and she jumped me from behind. So I gave her exactly what she wanted, a quick shag that lasted for about thirty-seven minutes until you came along." He began to walk towards the door but Rose stood to her feet, knocking down the first aid kit and spilling the contents everywhere.

"You could have rejected her!" Rose was disgusted by him, his appearance, his smell, and his god damn behavior. She may have been homeless but she went to great extent to at least still smell good. He shrugged, glancing back at her.

"You could've just kept your mouth shut. Doesn't mean you had to, doesn't mean I had to. I'll do what I want. I'll get everything I can out of this life before..." Murdoc looked away, not finishing his sentence. Was he afraid of dying? Perhaps. Murdoc left the room, quickly, leaving her to the absolutely disgusting bathrooms. She'd have to clean these and she wasn't looking forward to it.

Rose packed all of the items on the floor back into the first aid kit, hoping to god that this wasn't going to be every day of this job.


	3. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/pTA0DSfrGZ0
> 
> The song for this is called Do You Feel It by Chaos, Chaos.  
> Things get worse from here on out. 
> 
> Yes.  
> I do feel it.  
> But who do you run away with, Rose?  
> Would you run when the time comes?
> 
> I can't help but wonder.

Cleaning the blood off the bathroom floor wasn't her favorite moment of the day, but it was the most peaceful.

When she returned to the kitchen, Paula was sobbing, surrounded by the band members. Murdoc's pants were now completely off, nothing but his underwear covering him. He'd even removed his shirt, going about his day like he hadn't been caught screwing around with Paula. 2-D was there, his hands buried in his face, his shoulders shaking.

Murdoc silently lit a cigarette, taking a large puff before breathing it back out. Russel glared at him. Rose didn't know what do with herself or Paula. But, she was just an assistant. She couldn't really do anything, wasn't up to her.

2-D went apeshit, tearing from his chair and attacking Murdoc, whom he tackled to the ground before smashing his fist into Murdoc's face. Murdoc grinned. "You done yet, you pathetic sod?"

2-D screamed, but his screams and rage slowly faded into sobs as he stood from Murdoc, unable to harm him, unable to make him hurt like Murdoc hurt him in any way. Murdoc stood and toppled 2-D over with a right hook to the face, before grabbing his arm and using it to put out his cigarette. 2-D let out a pained cry, curling up into a ball.

"Be a good boy, now. Don't you dare ever attack me again." He patted 2-D's cheek before passing by Paula, ignoring her yearning gaze entirely. "And you, get the fuck out."

"But... but I'm the guitarist!" She sputtered, her face paling as she scrambled off the chair and towards Murdoc. "And we.. what about us??"

"Babe, there is no us, your skills are second rate and you'll be easily replaced. If you do not get the fuck out of my face right now, I will make sure that your face gets fucked up. Scram!" He yelled the last word, causing Paula to dash out of the room, tears spilling from her eyes to collect her stuff and leave Kong as fast as possible. Murdoc saw Rose gawking, and he frowned. "An' you, new girl, who the fuck do you think you're looking at? Get to work."

Rose almost jumped out of her skin as he brushed past her, out of the kitchen to go skulk off and do something else. She approached 2-D, who was shivering in a ball on the floor and knelt to the floor, gently putting his head in her lap and stroking his head. Perhaps it was weird for a stranger to do this, but it always made her feel better. When her mother used to do it, at least. She opened her mouth and began to sing a tune in a soft voice, maybe not in the best voice but the only one she had. She didn't know if her off-key singing would help him or not, but she'd try it anyway. His hands dug into the folds of her skirt, his nails digging into her legs. Her heart hurt for him; it was absolutely horrid, the way Murdoc treated him. No respect whatsoever. No appreciation.

He buried his face further into Rose's lap, his sobs muffled. At this point, Russel had moved out of the room, knowing he couldn't make it any better beyond what Rose was trying to.

About thirty minutes later, 2-D had fallen silent and both of them were still on the kitchen floor, he was face-up in her lap, his eyes closed. A peaceful scene, as Rose ran her hands through his blue hair.

"Why does he do things like this?" 2-D murmured, finally opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling. Rose stopped touching him, placing both hands on either side of herself and leaning backward, looking at the ceiling.

"You know those tiny plastic stars that glow in the dark, the ones people can stick on the ceiling and on the walls? Don't you think we should just buy a shitload of those and put them on the ceiling?"

2-D sat up and gave her a look as if she were insane. "What does that have to do with why he does these things?"

"Everything, 2-D. We can put up the glow-in-the-dark stars just because. He did it just because. There's not a WHY for people like that; there's a can. They do it because they can." He seemed to mull over it for a moment, before nodding in understanding.

"But why?"

Why was a good question. Murdoc probably knew it would hurt 2-D. What did he gain from that? Some form of satisfaction? No, Rose couldn't believe that. Nobody was that evil, not even her father. She disbelieved that Murdoc was really as bad as he seemed.

Rose would have to find out for herself.

When Rose didn't respond, 2-D stood up. "Your idea is good. Yeah, I wanna do that, put those glowy stars up. You got any on you?" Rose snorted. "What?" He really was something.

"I don't have any in my pockets, 2-D, if that's what you're asking."

"Oh."

"Can you drive with, erm, your eyes?"

"It's not recommended. Murdoc is the one that does all the driving. I can't see far ahead enough without everythin' blurring.." He waved his hand in front of his face, looking like a lost puppy.

"So they're not just sockets?"

His expression twisted into a confused one before enlightenment spread across his face. "Ooooh. Nobody told you. Murdoc saved my life by waking me up from a coma. Some people say not but man, if he hadn't done that, I'd be like a vegetable forever!"

"What does that have to do with your eyes?"

"Ah, well they're kinda filled with blood, you know? Murdoc ended up knocking one eye out and then put me in a coma. Then he woke me up but my other eye got screwy, too! And that's how we started a band." He shrugged. Rose was somewhat surprised he wasn't still crying; he seemed a little emotional, but perhaps that spaced-out part of him canceled the emotional part out. She got to her feet and offered her hands to 2-D, who took both as she pulled him up.

Sure, he was a little bit of a fixer-upper, nearly blind, was terribly absentminded and revered the person who was abusive to him as his hero... but would 2-D be able to forgive either Paula or Murdoc for this? "2-D, things may not seem as bright now but the thing I've learned most in life is that running away, unless you run to another country, will never fix your problems. It will take time but your wounds will heal."

"Sounds like you've got experience." Rose was so shocked at how 2-D even guessed that, so she pretty much let go of his hands, which she was still using to support him, causing him to drop to the floor with an extremely loud 'thud'.

"Owww, what was that for?" He groaned, getting on his feet and rubbing his sore arse. A banging sound came from below, causing Rose to jump.

"Stop that banging! Stop that fucking banging!" Murdoc screamed from the room underneath the kitchen. 2-D shivered but dashed out of the room before Rose had a chance to stop him.

She sighed, crossing her arms, wondering if it was always like this around here.


	4. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gets a little awkward now...  
> But, this chapter's song is another Gorillaz' song!  
> https://youtu.be/sY20vr7-MpM  
> It's called To Binge!  
> Don't you think this fits 2-D so well? It just feels like a song you can really zone out to. It just fits the overall {mostly} chill of this chapter.  
> Murdoc has no chill. 
> 
> 2-D JUST KEEPS BEING ADORABLE.  
> STOP MAKING ME CONFUSED, I HAVE TO REMEMBER MY LOVE IS FOR MURDOC  
> BUT THEN YOU COME IN AND MAKE THE STARS SHINE D;

Daring to finally open her eyes after lying in bed for five minutes, she was awake. The rest of the band members had retreated to specific areas of Kong Studios; areas she couldn't quite find, so she hadn't seen anyone since 2-D booked it out of the kitchen.

She'd finished cleaning the bathroom yesterday. No doubt the kitchen would be all fucked up again.

As she walked into the kitchen she realized that another pile of dishes had formed. She turned on the stove and cracked an egg over a pan, loving the sizzling sound it made while washing the other dishes.

2-D was lured into the kitchen by the smell of food, albeit a little burnt. Rose was panicking, waving smoke off the stove. 2-D stared at it momentarily before screaming and entering the supplies closet, receiving a bucket, filling it up with water and dumping it on Rose's head. "Izzit out?! Is the fire out? Gosh, I can't look!"

Rose sighed. "Yes, the fire is out."

He opened his eyes slowly, then gazed at Rose with that blank stare he had down so well. "Why are you wet, Rose?" She shook her head and let out a small chuckle, almost rolling her eyes. She should've expected this from 2-D, but she also didn't want him to feel guilty or bad for throwing a bucket of water on her.

"Took a bath."

"In your clothes?"

"Yes. Haven't you heard? That's a popular thing nowadays."

"I should try it."

"I'd rather not, the trend is overrated anyways." She quickly tried to dissuade the airheaded, curious 2-D from attempting to bathe in his clothes. He simply nodded. "If you do it, people won't do it anymore because it would be too cool, you know?"

"Oooh. I see. So you're sayin' that people wouldn't want to do it if I did it?" Rose nodded and was somewhat surprised that 2-D just accepted that without question.

She felt a little bad having lied to him twice in a row, but it was better than making him feel bad. She turned to the pans, now off the stove, glad they hadn't been soaked in water... but the bacon was extremely black in shade. She scraped the bacon from the bottom of the pan and onto a plate, the somewhat shriveled scrambled eggs next. Sighing over her creation, 2-D took a fork and grabbed the plate. She quickly grabbed his arm, shaking her head frantically, but 2-D ignored this and literally dug into the plate with all the energy she had. He began to cough a little, having inhaled his food a little too fast.

"2-D, you don't need to eat that. I know I'm a shit cook."

"Relax, Rose. Been forever since I've had a cooked meal like this, so it's a lot better than just toast, you know?" He smiled a wonderful grin of his and Rose sighed, unable to move his resolve from eating the pile of poison she just cooked to throwing it out. Murdoc entered the room and 2-D didn't react; Rose wondered how she herself should act.

"What the fuck is this piss?" He asked, gesturing to the burnt food in the pan.

"My attempt at making breakfast." Rose said, her eyes shooting towards the kitchen door hopefully. Maybe he wouldn't notice if she slipped away.

"Well, it looks like fucking shit."

Just one step and she could run.

"I'm sorry, I'll be actively cooking now so hopefully, I'll get better."

Please god, let her escape this conversation somehow.

"You better. In the meantime, might as well take a page from 2-D's book. Better your food than ours." He dumped the remnants of the bacon onto his plate like the asshole he was, not leaving any for Russel. Not that Russel would want it anyways. He scooped a few spoonfuls of eggs up before sliding the plate across the table and sitting in his chair before taking a bite out of the burnt bacon. God didn't hear her prayers. "This sodding bacon is absolutely horrible. Come sit." He patted the chair between him and 2-D.

Rose awkwardly walked to the chair, pulling it out and sitting in between them. Both stared at her.

"Say ahh."

"Wha-"

Murdoc stuffed a piece of bacon in her mouth, causing her to almost choke. He slapped a hand over her mouth making it impossible to spit the bacon out. He rested his other hand on his chin, raising one eyebrow and waiting for her to swallow.

When she did, he went back to his business, this time opening a newspaper and munching on a piece of bacon. "Figured you'd want to know what shit tastes like." He muttered.

Forgive me Rose, when I created you I knew you would be violated but he insulted your coOKING SKILLS RIP HIM APART EVEN IF YOU DO SUUUUUUCK  
Hi BY the way, back to story now

2-D turned his chair towards Rose and scooped up some eggs on his fork, copying Murdoc. "Say ahh."

A very confused Rose opened her mouth. "Aah?" This caused Murdoc to growl, annoyed that she'd do it for 2-D but not for him. 2-D was a bitch.

He gently placed the fork in her mouth as if poking her with it accidentally would set off a land mine. Murdoc tightly gripped his paper, causing it to wrinkle, annoyed at her obedience towards 2-D.

Rose quickly chewed and swallowed the eggs when 2-D pulled the fork out of her mouth. "See, Rose? The eggs aren't that bad." Rose smiled at his kindness, but this made Murdoc angry beyond belief.

"Enough!" He shouted, rolling up the newspaper and smacking 2-D with it repeatedly, madly. "You stupid little git, you just got rid of the last whore you had and already you're trying to get a new one!"

2-D whimpered under the force of the blows. "I-I'm not, I swear!" He curled up in a ball and every whap resounded through the empty room. "I'm sorry, Murdoc, forgive me, please!" He begged.

"If you fucking weren't, there's nothing to ask forgiveness for! You fucking stupid little piece of shit! Fuck off!" He screamed, pointing towards the door which 2-D scrambled towards.

Rose wanted desperately to speak up, to stop him, but she was unable to. Her movement locked up, and her hands tightened into fists. She'd had somewhat of the same treatment in her life before and escaping the country and what she did to the man who did that to her... well, she never expected to come face to face with abuse again. She couldn't move against it, her fear causing her to stay rooted to the spot.

2-D crawled on his hands and knees to the door and Murdoc planted his foot up 2-D's ass, shoving him forwards roughly. He rolled along the ground, letting out a sob before getting up and dashing towards the exit.

"That rude mother fucker didn't even finish his plate." Murdoc mused, staring at the bacon before picking it off 2-D's plate and taking a bite.

Russel edged into the kitchen, eating the scrambled eggs from the pan, pretty much ignoring 2-D's suffering and Murdoc's abuse. Was it really that natural around here?

Rose stood to her feet, trying to walk past Murdoc. He grabbed her wrist. "Try not to tempt our lead singer, alright? Shouldn't be too difficult, the only thing he's got going for him is his looks. I'd like to believe I was the one who knocked out his brain, you know?" Rose wanted to recoil in disgust but she simply slid out of his grasp as she walked towards the exit of the kitchen, meekly in hopes that Murdoc's anger wouldn't be aimed at her like a weapon.

Proceeding down the hall, she came across an open door. Much to her surprise, when stepping through it, she came to see an expensive looking studio. Russel came through the door, grunted at her and peacefully sat on a tiny chair, staring at a screen as he pressed the play button for a video. He reached into a bag of chips and pulled out a twizzler stick, which freaked Rose out a little.

Was it the wrong packaging? A wizard's portal? Could it possibly be... that Russel simply dumped a pack of Twizzlers into the chips? She'd never find out, for she was too intimidated to ask.

"Yo, want one?" He offered her a twizzler without even looking at her. When Rose took it, Russel sighed. "Don't be too put off by Murdoc. Dude's an ass, but he's havin' a bad week, yo. It'll get better, so relax your ass." Russel pulled up another stool and patted it, not taking his eyes off the screen.

Rose sat on the stool, gnawing at the twizzler. "How did you get here?" She asked, her voice barely a squeak.

"Kidnapped. Murdoc was askin' for some obscure 50's record at the place I was workin', slipped a bag on my head and forced me out and here. Showed me the music, was impressed, decided to stay." Russel shrugged, finishing his twizzler. Rose's jaw was open; completely so. He'd just... stay?! "Fair warning to ya, Murdoc don't have no limits. Would've been more useful to say so before you started working here, but ya always looked like a mouse when I tried to talk to ya so I didn't."

Those grunts... had he wanted to say something?! He was just being polite and trying not to scare her this entire time?

"I'm sorry," Rose began, "I might have misunderstood you."

"It's all good, yo. Happens all the time. By the way, man, you American? You don't got no accent from around here." This time, he swiveled towards her, engaged in their conversation.

"Yeah, I am. How about you?"

"Of course, yo. Do I look like I'm from around here to you?"

"Nope, not really."

"Then there's your answer."

Rose was silent for a little longer. There was something strangely off about Russel and something extremely off about Murdoc. The air here didn't feel... normal, is all. It was something she couldn't explain.

And the building...

She shook it off.

"Sorry to cut our conversation short, Russel, but I've gotta.. go. And do my job." She tried to explain her reason for leaving but all he did was shrug and bite into another twizzler. She'd make a mental note of where the studio was, just in case this was where Russel went to hang frequently.

As she left the studio she wondered what could've happened to Murdoc to put him in enough of a bad mood to make him abusive. She'd find out soon enough.


	5. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the party! Let's DOOOO THIS!  
> The song for today issss...  
> https://youtu.be/T3iP9k6pdeU  
> Aurora Asknes! Under Stars!
> 
> It's absolutely beautiful! Aurora is one of my special secrets; I'm sharing her music with you, though~ It's that kind of hidden gem you just go to listen to when you're feeling lovely. I have a lot of hidden gems. ^^

Having been trying to focus on the hallways today, Rose had gone back and forth with a mop, a vacuum, and a broom. It was all she could do at this point, beyond wash the walls with a rag. The damage done to the hallway was too much to fix in less than an hour when lunch was coming up. About twenty-five minutes. As she was transporting a mop bucket filled with a brown water, the soap having given up remaining white about three dips of the mop into the bucket ago, 2-D came down the hall with a couple of familiar looking packages in hand. She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned to the happy-go-lucky man.

"Look, look! Rose! I got us some stars!" He displayed the packages proudly in his hands. There they were, little and big glow in the dark plastic stars. He was absolutely beaming, the pain of yesterday long in the past. "Can we put them up now? Please?"

He was like an impatient child. She leaned on her mop, chuckling. "Of course. I gotta put away the mop anyways, so let's go." They began walking through the hallways together, 2-D's heavy breathing the only thing cutting the thick silence between them. He must have run all over Kong, maybe even to the store and through the graveyard, to have been breathing that hard.

When they reached the kitchen, Rose entered the supplies closet and put the mop away. Both she and 2-D stared at the ceiling, her more aggressively as if mentally telling it to lower herself so she might place stars on it.

2-D squatted on the floor and she did absolutely nothing about it. She had no idea how squatting would help... before he jumped. But still, he couldn't reach the ceiling. She burst out into giggles and he looked at her, confusion spreading across his face. "It didn't work." From seeing him squat, though, she'd gotten an idea.

"2-D, can you squat again?" He obediently did so, and she sat on his shoulders. "You can stand now." The seemingly lanky boy had no problem lifting her whatsoever, surprisingly. He placed his hands on her legs to steady her on his shoulders.

"Good idea!" 2-D took one hand off of her leg to pick up a packet of stars, handing it to her, which she tore open. She peeled off the backing of one star, slapping it on the roof. This continued for the full package before 2-D needed to rest a bit. As they sat in chairs, 2-D had the brilliant idea of stacking two chairs on top of one another, getting through half a package before falling right onto Rose after losing his balance on the chairs.

"Oooh... the pain..." 2-D was splayed on top of her, his back pressing into her face. He was probably heavier than her. It sure felt like it.

"Sorry..." He groaned, before getting up and offering his hand to help her up, which she gladly took. "Would you like to try my shoulders again? Think I'm all rested up now!" He grinned, and she nodded.

They had gotten a quarter through the third pack when Murdoc walked into the room. "So, where's my lunch at..." He trailed off when Rose and 2-D looked at him. "You fuckin' git. YOU FACE-ACHE. I drove you to the dollar store, you rush off without a word of thanks. I've been looking for you!" Murdoc menacingly pointed in 2-D's direction, who screeched and dashed out of the room, unfortunately with Rose on his shoulders. Stars begin to rain from the sky, otherwise known as the pack in Rose's hand as her forehead hit the door frame and she was torn from 2-D's shoulders as he took off down the hall.

Falling backward, she slammed straight into Murdoc, who fell with her. He yelled as he hit the ground, breathing deeply, collecting himself and bracing himself for the pain. "You fucking idiot-" He stopped when he saw Rose's condition.

"I'm sorry!" Rose said, sputtering and rushing to explain herself. "I didn't mean to-"

Murdoc glared at her, shutting her up. He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the closet. She pulled a little but a nice firm squeeze that would leave a bruise from Murdoc would discourage her from squirming anymore.

Murdoc sat her on the chair nearest to the supply closet before digging through it and bringing out the first aid kit. He was shirtless, wearing only jeans, but it wasn't as awkward as the day he refused to pull up his pants. Murdoc slammed it down on the table and she was worried he'd try and perform some kind of surgery or something.

Murdoc grabbed her jaw and steadied her face before grabbing a large, square band-aid and some cleansing wipes. Murdoc gently wiped her forehead and it stung; when he withdrew it, there was a medium amount of blood. Rose gasped. For one she hadn't thought Murdoc and gentle could ever collaborate, for two, ouch.

"This is what happens when idiots like you two are left alone in a room together. The last thing I need is to go back to taking care of some comatose vegetable, which you may just become." With that he smacked the band-aid onto her forehead, causing Rose to wince from pain. She hadn't even noticed she'd been harmed until he did something about it. "Just understand that whatever ideas that 2-D has in that nearly-empty mind of his, they aren't meant to see the light."

He tossed the first aid kit into the supply closet, not caring about the crash that followed. Rose almost outwardly groaned; more shit to clean, just what she needed.

"Meanwhile, the fuck 'ave you done to my kitchen?" His eyes scanned the ceiling. "2-D put you up to this gay shit? Seems like one of his ideas." 

"No, I suggested it." Murdoc's head turned towards her and he stared directly into her eyes, putting a hand on either side of her. She felt pinned down; even more so when he leaned closer. 

"Look, I haven't made a good first impression. I've been pissed all week because our last fucking assistant cost us a fortune when he accidentally drove an ax through our recording equipment. That is also why your pay is pretty shit so far." How?! Rose couldn't even comprehend how anyone could accidentally hit expensive recording equipment with an ax! 

"But..." Trying to think of a situation where that happened only hurt her head more. It seemed like she was having a migraine. She grabbed her head in pain. "Oww..."

"Oh god, not migraines. Sorry, but we don't keep any painkillers here. You gotta ask 2-D; he gets them all the time." He looked her over. "You doin' okay, besides the entire headache thing?"

She was surprised he cared, especially with what he did to 2-D without even checking for a second if he was okay. She knew it; he wasn't as bad as he seemed. In fact, he seemed mighty decent. It almost made her smile; she felt like Murdoc's little burst of anger was done and gone now. "I'm okay, yeah." 

"Alright, because you need to come with me and help me out with something." He grabbed her hands and yanked her off the counter. She fell right into him, but he didn't topple over. "Getting frisky in the kitchen, are we? I'd love to, but I'd have to take a raincheck on that." He grinned and she pulled away from him as fast as she could, stuttering.

"I-I don't, no, it's not. It isn't!" She insisted, causing him to burst out into laughter. He wrapped her arm around her shoulder and she awkwardly tried to insist how it wasn't that the entire way down the hallway and into the computer room.

She was sat in front of the computer, in front of an ad page. It looked like it was to create an ad.

"Start typing something... intelligent. Looking for a new guitarist, no fucking hippies. Last part is very important. Don't skip that." 

"Don't you think you should ask 2-D and Russel about what you should type?"

"2-D and Russel? 2-D has a bowling ball for a brain and Russel is either knee deep in taxidermy or too busy not giving a shit." 

So, without further ado, that was how Rose wrote the ad for Gorillaz' new guitarist.

No glory in her job, but it was a job.


	6. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's song would be...  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQWs0AYFq4k  
> Twenty One Pilot's Oh Miss Believer!  
> 

For sure, the next day, there was a loud buzzing noise throughout the entirety of Kong Studios. It continued, the button having been pressed at least seven more times. She heard Murdoc screaming, opening her door to see him marching down the hallway with a very mad stance. "Stop ringing the sodding doorbell! I'm coming, I'm coming!" His silken robe with a faded upside-down cross pattern on it was fully open, baring everything for the world to see.

Rose let out a small shriek and covered her eyes, dropping to the floor, while Murdoc blazed past her, possibly fully aware of his junk swinging about. He stomped down the stairs. Rose didn't really want to see him naked, but for the sake of finding out who was so desperate to talk to someone in the studio, she followed him. She got there in time to see him rip open the door. "The fuck do you want?!"

"My name is Jimmy Manson and I'd like to audition..." 

"Didn't you read the god damn ad?! Auditions start at eleven P.M. Eleven!"

"It is eleven." Jimmy said. He looked like an absolute sleaze, his eyes undressing Rose as he stared at her. She covered herself, extremely uncomfortable from his gaze. Murdoc either picked up on this and ignored it or it just completely flew over his head. 

"Well, then I'm moving the auditions up to twelve." Murdoc said, glaring at Jimmy before slamming the door shut in his face. He turned to Rose, putting his hands on his hips. She rose a hand to her face, covering her line of sight to prevent herself from looking at his dick. With her past she'd never had time for romance; not even a single kiss. So when it came to the not-so-innocent, well, Rose was basically a budding flower. Her shyness regarding these things only amplified with the naked Murdoc. "Love, you don't have to be modest. If you want a shag, just say so."

"I'm afraid that I don't want to shag, Murdoc." She murmured, turning away from him. He sighed. 2-D chose now to come down the stairs, seeing Murdoc naked. He shrieked, tripping down the stairs and rolling to a stop at Rose's feet, who jumped backward in surprise, causing her to topple into Murdoc, who looked down at her with a smirk on his face.

"For a girl who claims she doesn't want to shag, you're coming on pretty strong, love."

"You do realize that I didn't intend to end up this close to you, right?"

He just chuckled and shrugged. 2-D got up, rubbing the back of his head and groaning. He stuck out his tongue slightly, took a deep breath and stood up before realizing how close Murdoc's loins were to Rose. He quickly yanked her away, earning a solid glare from Murdoc, which turned into a snarl. 2-D whimpered, but still held onto Rose, afraid that Murdoc would attempt something unsightly.

He just clicked his tongue and shook his head. "2-D, you're preventing what you know will happen. She'll come to me soon enough, just like Paula did."

2-D's grip on Rose tightened, who made a pained face as his nails dug into the previous bruise Murdoc had made. Both of them stared at one another aggressively as Rose sunk to the floor, her mouth opening further the closer her knees got to touching it. "Owww,owowowowowow..." She hissed under her breath, the pain diverting Murdoc's attention from 2-D.

"Might wanna loosen up on that killer grip before you snap her arm off, eh?" Murdoc gestured to the extremely-in-pain Rose, who 2-D gasped and let go of instantly. She was dropped to the floor, much like the way she'd dropped 2-D a couple days ago. 2-D panicked, grabbing his head as a migraine set in. Murdoc shook his head. "No way to treat a lady." He offered his hand to Rose, who slapped it away.

"I believe you called me a slag or a whore a day or two ago? Isn't that how you treat them?" Rose snapped, sick of the way Murdoc did things. She could tell he'd hit a sensitive spot with 2-D. She didn't understand why 2-D held it in rather than letting it out. Rose felt aggressive, suddenly; if 2-D wasn't going to strike back, then Rose would.

"Have things your way, slag," Murdoc muttered, all of a sudden very interested in wrapping himself in his robe, finally covering the thing Rose had been averting her eyes from this entire time. Kind of hard when it was in her face. Murdoc skulked off, while 2-D groaned, holding his head, dropping to his knees.

"I'm really sorry, Rose...! I just... I'm sorry!" She could tell he was in pain. Instead of getting upset, she smiled at him and ran her fingers through his blue hair.

"Relax, 2-D. I've been through worse, so don't be upset, okay?" When he glanced up at her with his eight-ball fractures, Rose somewhat just wanted to protect him. She wanted to throw herself on top of him and protect him from Murdoc's blows; she couldn't stop herself from thinking that if things continued like this she actually may. But, every time Murdoc landed a blow, she had thoughts that made her feel guilty.

'Thank god that isn't me.'

Those thoughts, they made her sick to her stomach. But, as ugly as it may be it was her true feelings on the matter. She bit down on her lip, looking at 2-D. She was an ugly person. 

'I've already suffered enough. I left to escape that.' 

She wanted to apologize. But she'd done nothing wrong, right? She... this was all none of her business. She couldn't help, or change, anything around here. She'd been hired to do her job. Even if he was a victim there wasn't anything she could do without getting the law involved.

'But that's not how you solved your problem.'

She pushed the guilty voices to the back of her head, sheerly with her will. She was afraid to turn on her cell phone. She was also afraid to see any voicemails or messages from her friends. Her paranoia was well-needed; who on earth would look for Rose Judith Badling in England? Nobody. She wasn't that important. 

Nobody would miss her.

She took a deep breath, having come to the crushing realization that she had nobody to run to, but that maybe, just maybe, it didn't have to be that way for 2-D. Even if she couldn't use herself as a meat shield because she was pathetically selfish, she'd still be there for him even when he was abused. That was more than anyone had ever done for her and maybe, just maybe if one of her 'friends' had just acknowledged the fact she was covered in bruises just once, instead of ignoring them, going about their day, maybe if when she contacted the authorities if just one stood by her side, her father wouldn't have gotten away with saying 'she's lying. It's been stressful for her since-'

Breaking her out of her thought pattern, 2-D tightly wrapped his arms around her in a quick, tight hug before withdrawing awkwardly. "You looked upset, is all. You've been real nice to me, so I wanna tell you that I really appreciate it." 

It only made her feel even more guilty to hear him say something like that; she opened her mouth to apologize but the sound of the door buzzing rang through Kong studios. Murdoc was in the area before she could say anything and he yanked open the door to reveal a large crate. "What the fuck is this?" He asked, glancing around.

"Yo, looks like a crate." Russel, having been annoyed by the now-consistent ringing of the doorbell, came down to see what was going on. "Fed-ex crate."

"No shit, Russel."

"Watch yoself, Murdoc, before my fist connects with yo face." Russel threatened.

"It's pretty big, whaddya think is in it?" 2-D questioned, venturing near the crate.

"Shouldn't we return it to the post office or something or try to find out who it belongs to? Unless anyone here actually ordered a package online?" Rose questioned, but Murdoc simply rolled his eyes.

"Someone paid for this shit, but they sent it to the wrong address. It's on my property, it's free, I'm not giving it back. Let's find out what treasures this baby holds, love. By the way, your suggestion was extremely lame." It wouldn't be Murdoc if he didn't end every other sentence with an insult, would it? Rose rolled her eyes. As Murdoc reached out to touch it, the crate burst open, smashing him in the face with a wooden plank, causing him to topple over. He peeked from behind, witnessing one of the single things in Rose's life that she could call truly amazing. A little Japanese girl had burst from the crate with an amazingly strong karate kick. With her, for some reason, came a guitar. As she landed on the floor, kneeling, she began to play a guitar riff that made Rose actually interested in music, just for a moment. 

Murdoc pushed the plank off of him, sparks of fire in his eyes. For a moment, she thought he was going to try to hurt the kid in some way, a nefarious grin spreading across his face despite the bloody nose. "Yes. This is it. This is our guitarist!" He exclaimed, excitedly. "Tell us, what's your name, little one?" 

The girl took a big breath, exhaling. "NOODLE." 

"Noodle?" 2-D asked, getting on one knee and reaching out his hands to pick up the little girl, who kicked him in the face. She had an angry look on her face. Something told Rose that this girl didn't enjoy being babied. Their eyes met, looking at one another for a second, before

Noodle completely ignored her. 

Rose felt like she was turning to stone; did Noodle not like her? She was such a cute little girl; Rose somewhat hoped they'd get along, what with her epic entrance. Especially if she was to stay! 

Murdoc kicked the remains of the crate down the hill rather than disposing of them properly like the lazy ass he was. The band members surrounded Noodle, all of them trying to ask her questions but failing to receive an answer.

As Rose tried to enter the building, Noodle shut the door in her face while looking directly at her. Oh god, is this really what her life would turn into? 2-D and Russel were going up the stairs with Noodle, possibly towards the kitchen to get her a meal. Rose sighed and pressed her forehead against the glass door, which Murdoc opened. He stared at her for a moment, before stepping to the side, holding the door open for her. 

"Rough day, eh? She'll like you at some time, both of you have plenty of time to get along." Rose walked through the door frame, but Murdoc grabbed her wrist. "I'm sorry for calling you a slag, alright? I'm not one to apologize but I do admit that was a bit uncalled for and you haven't gotten on your knees for me yet," A glare from Rose made him rethink his wording, "You haven't gotten on your knees for me at all, so maybe, you're not, you know, a slag. So, I'm sorry. I was... waaaas... wroooon.... wroooo.... I was... I was... damn it." He slammed the door shut, his frustration and anger pooling out into him trying to form the words. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm never wrong, but this time I was wrrrruh... wruhhhh... I just was this time, alright?" He snapped, trying to keep his composure.

"Thank you for your apology." Rose said, facing him now. He still didn't let go of her wrist for a moment more, until the buzzer rang.

"What in bloody hell is it this time?! I'm fucking busy!" He tore his hand away from Rose's wrist, yanking open the glass doors. There was Jimmy Manson, with his guitar. He began to strum it and Murdoc just stared at him as if he were a crazy arse. 

He tapped his foot to some imaginary beat as he played. This went on for five minutes. 

"What do you think?" He said, excitedly.

Murdoc took a deep breath. 

Rose rested her face in her palm, knowing nothing good could come of Murdoc preparing air for a full sentence.

"You're absolute shit, you stupid git, so get the fuck off my lawn before I do something to you the coppers would be mortified at. We already got our guitarist, stop ringing our BLOODY FUCKING DOORBELL, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" 

Jimmy was silent for a moment.

"But you... you said to come back at twelve."

"I did, but now, I'm saying don't. Get lost! Scram!" Murdoc roared, slamming the door shut so hard that it cracked the glass. 

Rose almost screamed at him for that. She knelt to the ground, quickly examining the crack before sighing and slamming her head against it, causing more cracks to spread. "These doors have to be replaced."

"Great."

"Have you ever considered anger management?"

"No."

"Wou-"

"No."

"How did you know-"

"No, I would never consider going to anger management classes. I knew because I once had a lawsuit against me demanding I go. I said fuck you, stood up, pissed on the judge's stupid silly wig and walked out." 

Oooooooooookay.

Rose knew that living with them wasn't going to be easy, but if Murdoc had done crazy shit like that... she had been wondering what Russel had meant when he said no limits. At what would Murdoc stop? What was the end for Murdoc? She was a little afraid to ask what he wouldn't do, but she was more afraid to ask what he would. She didn't like knowing about the bad parts of people; it made her want to run away from them. 

Would she truly be able to handle Murdoc?


	7. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today, I have a treat for you.  
> One of my favorite songs!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg4C365LbQ  
> Lorn - Acid Rain!  
> I feel like it fits this chapter well.
> 
> I love snakes. D :

God, Rose was having a bit of a problem.

Not that her life had been simple before. 

It's just that now, caked onto the other problems like a fine layer of thin icing, was Noodle. The cute, small Asian child, was a devastating, privacy-invading, whirlwind of a little girl. It was midnight when Rose had heard a scratching noise, one that she'd never heard before. She sat up in bed, turned the lamp on beside her and proceeded to scream. Loudly.

Noodle returned the scream. They continued this for moments more until Russel burst in with a gun wearing pajamas and a fez. "The fuck is happenin'?" This only caused both of them to scream even more, but the screams faded as Rose gasped for breath. She pointed at Noodle, who'd been sifting through Rose's closet like no tomorrow, despite the clear lack of anything that was in there. Only four different outfits of clothing; there was her first paycheck gone. But still, the violation of privacy is what mattered here. 

"I heard a noise, woke up, turned on the light and she was in here." She hissed the last three words, clearly upset at the fact Noodle had invaded her privacy. If she wanted to look at her room, she could have asked, knocked, woken her up at least have done SOMETHING that didn't lead to Rose discovering her from waking the hell up! Rose buried her face in her hands.

"Noodle, yo, not cool, man. Invasion of privacy ain't gonna cut it." Noodle stared down Rose as Russel picked her up by the hoodie. She continued to creepily stare at her as Russel carried her out of the room, while Noodle began to smile. Albeit creepily for the situation, her normal smile was nice to see. Maybe Noodle liked her? 

She laid her head back down on the pillow and when she woke again she was screaming.

There were snakes in her room, three of them.

She wasn't sure if they were friendly or poisonous, but this time Murdoc burst through the door with a banjo, possibly the only weapon nearby. He sighed and rolled his eyes when he saw why she was screaming. "What is it with you bloody women and snakes?" Murdoc grabbed a snake and quickly twisted its head to the point of snapping. He threw it back on the ground and it twisted and rolled around until finally, it was still. 

Rose let out a mortified squeak.

"I'm getting rid of them, I'm getting rid of them." He muttered as if to comfort her despite the fact he just killed a snake. In her room. "Why the fuck're they in here, anyways? You sign any shady contracts recently?" 

She shook her head and he slammed his foot into the head of a snake, crushing it. Rose almost lost her dinner; the blood trailing out from beneath his foot and the sight of bashed-in snake brains was revolting and disgusting. He squelched the blood in between his toes, grinning and laughing, while Rose was living in an absolute nightmare.

The final snake, he literally ripped the head from the body in a grotesque display of strength. This time, Rose really was sick. She emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor and Murdoc jumped backward in an attempt to avoid her bile. 

"You okay?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"I am not okay. Last night, Noodle came in here, I'm pretty sure that's why the snakes are here, but more horrifyingly I just watched you brutally kill all three." 

"That didn't impress you?"

"No!" Rose whisper-shouted, hoarsely, her throat sore from throwing up. "Clearly, it did not impress me." She gestured to the contents of her stomach, now lying in front of her. Murdoc rolled his eyes. It was just then that she noticed the cross around his neck. Would a man of religion really do something like this? "You're into Christianity, yes? 

This caused Murdoc to choke on air and guffaw like no tomorrow. He slapped his knee, laughing like no tomorrow. "Christianity, she says!" Tears spilled from his eyes as he straightened up again, still with little chuckles. "I, love, am a Satanist. All hail Abaddon, praise Satan, et cetera. This cross here proves that." He strung it up over his thumb, trying to show it off.

"This actually explains everything." Rose whispered, dumbstruck. She didn't know how she did not realize that the cross around his neck was in no way some form of worship of God, but complete worship for the devil? Rose wasn't religious in the slightest. She didn't believe in god or the devil, so it was humorous to meet someone who did. Murdoc, of all people. 

She didn't quite expect him to believe in any of that. It was almost like a joke. Murdoc. Believing in something like that didn't seem to be his style. 

"Explains everything, doll?" His hands covered in snake guts, his greasy hair, his five-o-clock shadow. He was ugly, that was a certainty, a lot crass, but there was a bit of charm to his look, his personality. A small smile played on Rose's lips; she brushed a lock of hair behind her ear as she looked at him. His eyes darted around the room as if waiting for some influence from the cosmos. He looked confused. "Well, don't answer my question then. I clearly didn't ask it because I wanted it to be answered, no, not at all."

Rose had to be entirely insane to consider Murdoc even slightly attractive. His body frame was less than pleasing, he had poor hygiene and a nasty temper. Yet still, a girl could dream. Thank god she really only considered him slightly attractive; the fact he had slightly green tinged skin was a little hard to get over. Beyond that, he was seemingly a sex fiend.

"Thanks for the help." She gestured to the snakes. He sniffled, rubbing his nose with a bloody hand before glancing around at the mess he'd left.

"Yeah, uh, no problem." 

Rose really was insane to have even considered for a second that she might be attracted to Murdoc Niccals. It was a passing fancy that lasted for only a second; she preferred it that way, honestly. Getting caught up with Murdoc probably meant nothing but bad; besides, if she said she wasn't minorly attracted to 2-D, which is a lot more than what she was attracted to Murdoc, she'd be lying. 2-D was beyond sweet; in fact, she was actually wondering where he was about now. She had to clean up snake guts, so she couldn't exactly go off and find him, but perhaps after the snake guts. 

"Look, love," Murdoc began, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Yes?"

Murdoc's face paled and he turned away. "Never mind, you got all this to clean up. I'll talk to you later, see ya." With that, he skulked out of the doorway. Rose couldn't help but wonder what he wanted to say; knowing Murdoc, yet again, nothing good. 

Rose quickly shot off down the hall, looking to get into the closet quickly so she could avoid any and all contact with Noodle. However, the opposite of that happened as she ran into 2-D in the kitchen, whose smile stretched from ear to ear at the sight of her. 2-D reached out to put his arm around her shoulder in a slightly-more-than-friendly gesture, however, his plans were interrupted...

By Noodle.

She slammed her foot into Rose's face, who fell backward, spurts of blood coming out of her nose. As she stared at the doorframe, absolutely dazed by Noodle's surprise attack, she almost began to cry. Noodle must truly, honestly hate her. She wouldn't even let 2-D touch her. Rose held her nose and 2-D knelt beside her, shooting a glare towards Noodle. "What did you do that for, Noodle? She didn't do nothin' wrong!" 

This time, Noodle allowed 2-D to touch her, simply to tend to her. Noodle's face turned into a frown as she growled. Rose almost inched away from 2-D, but he kept a hand on her that prevented her from moving away. 

"That's it, the both of you are gonna sit down to a nice hot breakfast and sort out your differences. Noodle, whatever hatred you've got for Rose is gonna end here, in this room!" 2-D declared, somewhat like he was scolding a puppy. 

Noodle sniffed, sitting down at the table. 2-D sat Rose right beside her and put down two slices of toast. The air in the room was awkward as he finally served breakfast; simply one slice of toast for both, without any toppings. Rose didn't quite know how to take this; it was quite burned. 

"Now both of you are gonna make up and be friends." 

She wasn't sure she wanted to break 2-D's airheaded and innocent fantasy. That wasn't exactly how things worked. Rose didn't know what to do. 

Noodle would bite into the toast, staring at Rose. 

"Dansei wa warui, anata wa kireidesu." Oh, Rose had left her japanese translation book in her room. "Karera ga anata o dainashi ni shinai yō ni shite kudasai."

Awkwardly, Rose looked for an escape. "I agree with you. If you'll both excuse me, Murdoc killed a bunch of snakes in my room and I have to go clean them up." 

"Sono basutādo! Sore wa okurimonodeshita! Kare wa shittobukai, shittobukai!" Noodle seemed to freak out, perhaps upset with the knowledge that the snakes she left in the room were dead. "Watashi wa anata o mamoru tame no atarashī keikaku o kōan suru hitsuyō ga arimasu... ! Itami wa hataraite imasen! Dansei, itami! Dansei, itami! Kono kunren wa inu no tame ni hataraku!"

It was at this point that Rose freaked out, leaving the room as fast as possible. She'd clean the guts with her bare hands if she had to, as long as she didn't have to go back into the kitchen.


	8. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to Chapter 8.  
> The song changes midway, but I put it there so you could listen at the right point in time!  
> THe song for the first half of this chapter is https://youtu.be/Brj8d5HKpEs  
> Nelly Furtado's All Good Things {Come To An End}
> 
> We've had our little lighthearted period. It's time to drop back into reality, so prepare for a storm.

"You look like fuckin' hell." Murdoc was referring to Rose's current appearance; a slightly busted nose with a nosebleed and a fading, deep cut that she'd ripped the bandage off of this morning. It seemed fine, she just disliked how uncomfortable the bandaid made her face feel. "I know 2-D gave you that one," He pointed to her forehead, "But what about the one here?" He signaled around his nose, his hand swirling around the facial area.

"Noodle. It was a kick. I don't know why, so it's pointless to ask." Rose groaned, her pride and her soul hurt. All she wanted was to lie in bed but she dragged the mop into her room, Murdoc following.

"You do know your room has a carpet, right?"

"Yes, Murdoc, thank you for your input. Today I will be lazy and I don't give a shit whether it's carpet or floor, one way or another I will be getting my way and removing these stains from the carpet with a mop whether it wants to be removed or not." Rose said this so aggressively that Murdoc's eyes widened. He looked down at the carpet, then back up at Rose.

"You do know it isn't alive, right? I don't think it has wants, love."

"Zip it, carpet defiler." She grabbed the snakes with her bare hands, ignoring her absolute disgust and stuffed their bodies into a garbage bag. She tossed it towards Murdoc, who was doing absolutely nothing to help. "Make yourself useful and help clean this filth."

"That's your job."

"My job never stated I'd be cleaning up slaughtered snakes. Pretty sure this is illegal and on top of that, the worker's union would not appreciate this current situation."

"I pay you to be my assistant. Doesn't matter what I tell you to do, whether it be legal or illegal, you have to do it anyways. Anyways, I have to go get face-ache, Russel, and Noodle. We're starting the recording of our first song today. Gonna call it Ghost Train. What do ya think?"

"I would never buy it." She stated, flatly. Murdoc grabbed his chest and made a pained face, recoiling like she'd hit him. All Rose could think was how much of a sarcastic asshole he was. She might as well add dramatic to that lovely title. 

"You hit me where it hurts, babe. I thought you'd be ecstatic."

"Didn't I already say I have no interest in music? Don't take it personally."

Murdoc gave her a disapproving look before leaning against her wall. "Why are you nice to everyone else, but the minute it's just you and I, you go on the defensive?" She said nothing, simply scrubbing the carpet with the mop furiously. Rose wished that Murdoc would just go away and stop bothering her, leave her to work. "I was nice to you. I apologized. Yet you seem more interested in playing make-believe with 2-D rather than being around me."

Rose inhaled deeply before turning to see Murdoc step right to her, towering above in height. He was short, but not as short as she was. The look on his face, one of dead seriousness, set fear in her heart. She tightly gripped the handle of the mop, but Murdoc simply pried it from her hands and dropped it to the ground. "What are you doing?" She murmured, taking a step back. With each step she backed away from him, he took a step forwards.

"Being forwards." He murmured. "Wouldn't do to have 2-D more liked by you than me." She tried to go around but he slammed his palm into the wall, cornering her and blocking her escape routes. Rose nervously looked around; she hoped someone would come and save her. She wasn't ready. Not for something like this. "It hurts my pride."

"Is that all this is? A way to rejuvenate your injured pride? We've only known each other four days, Murdoc. Don't you think you're rushing things a little?" His hand slightly brushed against her cheek as he chuckled darkly. Rose was a coward; her knees were shaking. She was horrified of what he might do to her; she hoped her bluff would be taken. If she puffed up her feathers a little, would he back off?

"Do you really think you have a choice in how fast I move things? When I want you to be mine, you'll know. Right now, I'm just having some fun. The day is coming. Might not be today," He took a step back and Rose stared directly into his eyes, one red and one as black as coal, "May not be tomorrow, but when I have you, you'll be begging for it, Rose." 

Good to know Murdoc was just being a disgusting pig as usual. Any attraction she had for him faded, especially with how hard he was trying to get her into bed. She doubted he'd be anything but the way he currently was. Rose was sure this was known as sexual harassment. Maybe it was no big deal for him, but his lips had come too close to hers for comfort. She wanted her first kiss to happen on her terms; that much, life owed her. 

Picking up the broom, she'd decided. Her first kiss would go to 2-D, by the end of the year, solely so Murdoc couldn't have his little prize, his ego boost. He just strutted on into her life, basically claiming her free will and then told her 'you'll be mine.' No. Rose wasn't standing for that. She mentally apologized to 2-D for having brought him into this Murdoc-Rose war, but Rose really needed his unconscious assistance. He didn't even have to know.

As she rabidly scrubbed at the carpet, taking out her frustrations on the poor ground of her bedroom, she demanded victory against people who told her how to live her life. After her father, she'd never suffer that again. Never. An over controlling, overbearing, abusive, alcoholic, worthless asshole. That's what her father was. Rose was under his thumb for nineteen years. This was her life, her new start and nobody would take that from her. Nobody would take her free will. 

As she poured her fury into cleaning she soon realized she had been scrubbing the carpet so hard that she'd accidentally removed some of the colors from it. Sighing while placing the mop back in the bucket and picking it up to go drop it off, she ran into one person she'd wanted to avoid; Noodle.

It was a face-off in the hallway. 

There was nobody else around.

Noodle stared at her. 

"Gomen'nasai. Watashi wa anata ga hebi o osorete iru to wa omowanakatta." Noodle held out a small daffodil for her, which she ventured closer to cautiously receive, worried Noodle would once more attack her for no particular reason. "Dansei kara hanarete kudasai. Karera ga anata o yogoshite shimawanai yō ni shite kudasai." 

With that, Noodle walked off down the hall. Rose still wasn't quite sure as to what had just happened but she was glad Noodle no longer yelled at her. In fact, it somewhat felt like they had made peace, even though Rose had no idea what Noodle had said to her. She would learn, very soon, that 'Dansei' meant 'Men'. 

Despite Noodle attempting to train Rose like a dog {of which Rose currently has no idea,} and completely failing, Noodle was sure that continuing down this path and trying again was ideal. Rose's Noodle problems were far from over.

There was a new problem brewing, however, one that Rose had created herself. One that involved both Murdoc and 2-D. Murdoc's envy. As she walked down the hallway absentmindedly, Murdoc licked his cracked lips, looking at her with a lustful gaze from the other end of the hallway. There was no way any woman would choose 2-D over him. He'd prove that to the world. His intentions were far from pure; Rose was in his sights now. He'd dropped several women so that he could devote more time to Rose. And mostly making music, but Rose too. Five percent of the reason was Rose. Wait, was that right? He could count the reasons why on his fingers. He shook off his thought process and found Noodle staring up at him. "What're you looking at, small one?" 

"You!" Noodle pointed directly at Murdoc.

"Me, love?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

"Be nice! Bad dog! Sit!" 

Murdoc froze; it was like a cold rush of water down his back. Did this small child, sent through a goddamn Fed-ex crate, just call him a dog? As Noodle flipped him off and rushed down the hallway, he wondered where the hell such a misbehaved young child could have come from. Now that he thought about it more, nobody really asked her about her past. Then again, the language barrier was a little difficult to break through, so it was somewhat understandable.

Ah, well. He shrugged it off and walked down the hall to go about his business. He would lock this memory away and never bring it up again.

{SWITCH THAT MUSIC OUT REAL QUICK; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA} 

Meanwhile, Rose knocked on 2-D's bedroom door. Just two small taps. Screaming came from inside and Rose tripped backward as 2-D opened his door. God, now he was the naked one. He was completely shirtless, bruises and bite marks splattering his upper body. They looked painful. Small pinpricks of blood welled from one of his arms. He had a spaced-out look. "Rose?" He murmured.

"2-D, are you alright?" 

 

"Never better, why?" He tilted his head slightly to the left, to which Rose did so to mirror him. She smiled a little as he offered his hand to her. She tightly grasped his in her own as he pulled her up. He simply had on his underwear; she averted her eyes. "Oh. Sorry. Give me a minute." He shut the door gently, the kind of sweetness that only 2-D would show an inanimate object before Rose heard rustling. When he opened it again, he was wearing a 'Hello Kinky' shirt and some faded blue jeans. "My room is, um, a bit of a mess right now. But if you want, we could... you know, pop some popcorn and watch a movie together?" 

She'd smile, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Would this be what people considered a date? She'd never been on one. God, she felt so self-conscious all of a sudden. But then, she realized, this was 2-D. She had only known him for a couple days but more than anything she felt like he wasn't the type of person you needed to guard against. 

As he invited her in and they both laid on his bed on their stomachs, staring at one of his favorite zombie flicks as he popped a bag of popcorn into a microwave he kept in his room, both of them jumping and going to one another for comfort, it was somewhat a comforting scene, for now.

What Rose didn't know is that the path to hell is paved with good intentions; Murdoc wasn't the most dangerous thing to her, not yet. But 2-D, someone like 2-D can hurt people without even realizing they did it. Someone like that was beyond dangerous, someone who was so inviting, yet they could be the worst weapon if they were turned against you. 

Enjoy it, Rose.

Enjoy this while it lasts.


	9. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Hate This Part - Pussycat Dolls.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWytPuMGpHg  
> I'm sorry.  
> Severe warning on this chapter. Be ready for the worst.  
> Thank you for reading this far. I don't expect some people to be able to handle something like this.  
> One of the darkest sides of the Gorillaz is to be displayed in this chapter. In detail.  
> All good things must come to an end.

It'd been five months and some change since Rose came to Kong Studios. She'd made her way into the lives of the band members and since she couldn't imagine herself without them. The days had been mostly uneventful, other than a prank today where Murdoc's hand was glued to a toilet while he was drunk. Who did it was still a question, but Murdoc's anger had faded more into a want for alcohol.

"Stop moving," Rose had snarled, her relationship with Murdoc having taken a more aggressive route. He struggled against the toilet seat, before grunting at her.

"You stop bloody fucking moving when your hand is glued to the shitter."

"I would if it meant getting my hand unglued from it."

"Who gives a fuck what you would do?" Murdoc snapped, clearly being tired and upset, with a nastily massive hangover. Despite that, he took a swig from his cheap bottle of whiskey.

"You're the one who asked." She muttered. Finally having soaked the glue in hot water, she'd managed to get Murdoc's hand unglued. Whoever did this, Rose would be sure to give them a piece of her mind.

As he went to wash the remainder of the glue stuck to his hand he almost fell over; Murdoc, as per his usual behavior, was drunk and shirtless. Rose watched, unimpressed, as the man who smelt of cheap liquor turned his head towards Rose. "Mind giving me a hand, love? I need to get back to my love shack and I can't quite walk in a straight line." He gestured to himself and Rose rolled her eyes before sliding her arm under his and trying her best to support his weight.

He gave her directions to the parking lot, which she didn't even know they had, towards what seemed to be a home on wheels.

"Welcome to my Winnebago, love." He pushed her away and spread his arms like he was witnessing God, quite ironically, before ripping open the trailer door. "Come on in; I'll fix you something to drink."

Rose awkwardly complied, thinking she'd simply get a drink and leave the trailer. However, when she entered, Murdoc slammed her face-first against the wall, her arms being held behind her roughly as he pressed his body to hers. He was chuckling softly as Rose struggled under his grip. "What the fuck are you doing, Murdoc?!" She struggled harder but he grabbed a fistful of her hair and slammed her head against the door, causing a nose bleed. She groaned in pain, dizzy from the force of the blow.

"Ssh, love. Just relax, you'll enjoy it. Stop moving so much, right? Take your own advice."

"Whatever you're trying to do," She attempted to worm away from him as his lips brushed against her neck, him being much stronger than Rose, "You need to stop. Please." She squeaked.

Murdoc withdrew his lips before hooking his fingers in the waist of her pants. "Please," She begged again, but instead of stopping he grabbed her arm and threw her on one of his couches, straddling her, unbuckling his belt. When Rose realized that Murdoc had no intention of stopping she began to scream. "Someone please help me!"

Murdoc laughed. "You think anyone will help you? Russel is out buying a new set of drums, Noodle is off somewhere, possibly in the vents and 2-D is too much of a bitch." Growling the last word he finally managed to shove both his pants and underwear down, revealing his semi-erect dick. Rose screamed again, hoping that somebody, anybody would hear her. She thought that Murdoc would stop and she hoped to God this was still a prank. She prayed, but as Murdoc's cock neared her mouth she shut it, tightly.

His fingernails bit into her jaw but even when she wouldn't open her mouth he'd slap her across the face, causing Rose to shudder and sob. Quickly, before she closed her mouth again Murdoc shoved his fingers inside, forcefully opening it. "If you bite it, you're dead, understand?" With the, he lined his dick up with her mouth and slowly but surely guided the tip into it.

The smell and taste were horrible; Rose had never felt so violated in her life. She choked as he began thrusting, his groans repulsive, his weight making it hard to breathe while his dick was being forced into her mouth.

Rose closed her eyes, hoping it would be over soon.

As Murdoc's weight was torn off of her she opened her eyes to see 2-D tearing into him with all the strength he had. She sat up, horrified, as the men wrestled in the trailer, breaking a couple of cups that Murdoc had stashed around.

Murdoc slammed his fist into 2-D's face, getting up, standing over him. 2-D rolled on the ground as Murdoc firmly planted a kick in his side, causing 2-D to hack up a little bit of blood. He grabbed 2-D by the shirt and sat him down on the couch, who by now certainly would have a black eye.

"You think you can come into my fucking Winnebago and mess it up?" Murdoc screamed, rage and bloodthirstiness filling his eyes. "You know what? I was just gonna have a bit of fun with this 'ere gem," He pointed to Rose and picked up a bottle that'd been knocked on the floor, unscrewing the cap and downing the entire thing with a few gulps before whipping it across the room. The smash caused 2-D to flinch and Rose to let out a sob, whom Murdoc turned to. "But now I'm gonna have a lot of fun with her, and you're going to watch."

Murdoc discarded his jeans and 2-D curled up on the couch, one eye halfway shut and swollen from Murdoc's blow. "Please, Murdoc, just let her go," 2-D whispered, his voice weak.

"And who's gonna fucking make me, you?" Murdoc began to strip Rose of her clothing as she struggled. He landed a swift blow on her jaw, causing more pain and crying. "And you. If you stop fucking struggling then it won't be as bad."

Murdoc tore Rose's new shirt, reaching onto the table beside the couch and grabbing a pocket knife, slowly exposing the blade as he grinned. Rose was terrified; her head turned to 2-D. "2-D, please help me. Please call someone. Please help me!" As Murdoc sliced open her bra, exposing her breasts Rose's sobs grew louder. 2-D stared straight after and she felt violated and exposed. "If you won't help me, please stop looking at me," she begged.

2-D's head turned away but Murdoc glared at him. "Look, 2-D!" When 2-D didn't he snapped again. "I said fucking look, or do you want a new scar to go with that black eye of yours?" His head slowly turned back to Rose, tears welling in his eyes. He slowly started at the hem of Rose's panties as a tearing sound signified Murdoc was ready to begin. She let out a choked sob as Murdoc lined his dick up with her exposed entrance; with one thrust, her virginity was gone, just like that.

Her mouth was open in a silent scream, her head tilted all the way backward, as Murdoc grabbed onto her hips and roughly smashed his own into hers. The entire time, 2-D stared, watching as the girl who'd been so friendly to him, who'd been there for him, became a woman. Rose closed her eyes, begging God that if he was there he'd make this end.

"See? You're getting into it!" Murdoc laughed as he began speeding his pace up; Rose's nails dig into her arms as she kept her breasts covered, humiliated, hurt, in pain. But Murdoc would take her decency, too, as he pried her arms from her chest and held them above her. 2-D began to cry, his shoulders shaking, as the blood from Rose's purity stained the ratty old couch of the Winnebago, until finally, Murdoc was done.

With a thrust and a groan, everything he'd stored up for her was released inside her. As he pulled out, put his underwear back on and turned to the both of them, he sighed. "Now get out, the show's over." Rose was pushed out of the trailer and her shoulder hit the ground of the parking lot as she slid across it, marks appearing on her shoulders too. She didn't know how to feel, what to think, beyond how violated she felt. It was gone. Everything she kept for her own control was gone.

In a split second she'd been used and abused in a way her father had never dared to lay hands on her. She screamed, loudly, rage filling her, before bursting into sobs. She curled into a ball, thinking, desperately, how she'd pack and leave and....

That was but a fantasy.

She had nowhere to go. The cops probably still had the case open. Even though she was in pain, suffering, there weren't many jobs that paid cash and didn't ask questions. She didn't have enough saved to escape to anywhere. This job, these people, they were all she had. 

Rose painfully sat up, trying to get to her feet while covering herself with her hands, staying modest. 2-D, who'd collected her clothes and an old blanket from the Winnebago, stood above her. She looked up at him, tears staining her battered face. "Thank you for trying." She'd whisper, knowing that it wasn't 2-D's fault that she'd been assaulted by Murdoc. She felt dirty. 

"I'm sorry." His tone was flat, almost unfeeling. He draped the blanket around her shoulders, wrapping her tightly in it, before trying to help her up. She gasped from pain, mostly around the hip area, almost toppling over. 2-D, however, was there to catch her.

"Thank you." She said, pain creeping into her voice. "Thank you." She broke into sobs, her head resting against 2-D's chest.

"Do you... do you want me to take you back to your room?" It was as if there were no emotions in his voice as if he were broken. She nodded, and he carefully guided her back. 

He laid her down in her bed, bringing up the covers. As he turned to leave she grabbed his hand, another sob escaping her lips. "Please don't go." She didn't want to be alone, terrified Murdoc would come back. Even if 2-D did nothing for her protection, she felt safer with him there.

"I'm sorry." He said flatly, his hand sliding out of her own. 

"2-D?" 

Without another word, 2-D walked out of the room, leaving Rose to feel absolutely crushed. Tears began to well in her eyes again, as she asked herself why he left, her mind running through all the possible reasons why. She needed him. He failed her. All she wanted was for him to stay. She didn't blame him despite the fact he could have gotten someone else to help.

And with that, this horrid day, marked the beginning of Rose's long and dark path. Just one event to send her spiraling. She wasn't at the edge yet, but she would be. 

The light above finally flickered, took one last stretch of light and died out, leaving Rose in darkness to comprehend what had happened today, alone, in pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I began to write this chapter, I have to say that I cried.  
> Because to imagine the pain Rose must be going through..  
> That there's actually people who would do something like that..  
> I'm attached to Rose, I'll admit.  
> But what will this bring for her?


	10. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's something beautiful about this chapter, yet so hauntingly painful.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIwuMNOTmdc  
> Aurora Aksnes' Awakening. This is the song that I think fits Rose the most. It's about a girl going on a journey, waking up to the world, her mother wondering when she's going to come back.  
> Do you think the music I put with the chapters fits?

In the morning, almost everything hurt. Rose's face was swollen, blood crusted where her nosebleed had run wild. Bruises littered her face and in between her thighs with how hard Murdoc had been thrusting; as she stared in the mirror of the bathroom, in a t-shirt and shorts, she wondered how on earth she'd ended up jumping from one bad situation to another. 

2-D shuffled into the bathroom and Rose watched him in the mirror. "Good morning, 2-D." He stopped, freezing in place and turned around, dashing out as fast as possible. It hurt her that 2-D wouldn't even speak to her. On top of that, was he now avoiding her? Why?! She dug her fingernails into her palms so hard that they began to bleed. Despite all her bruises and wounds, she still had a job to do; a job she desperately needed, working under the man who had raped her. It killed her inside, knowing that she could do nothing about it. 

She was helpless.

As she walked into the kitchen, Murdoc was sitting at the table drinking coffee leisurely, one hand on his head. 2-D was sitting at the other end, silently, while Russel was reading some funnies in the morning paper. Rose made sure to keep her back to them as she begun breakfast; for today, it would be French toast. Noodle wasn't currently in the room. 

"My head is killing me," Murdoc groaned, leaning against the back of his chair. "I got absolutely smashed last night and I came to and my trailer was quite a bit of a mess." Rose seized up. Could it be that Murdoc had been so drunk that he didn't even realize what he did? What he'd done to her was killing her on the inside and this asshole couldn't even give her the courtesy of remembering?

As Rose divided the breakfast onto plates, she made sure to save the most burnt pieces for Murdoc in a form of passive-aggressive revenge. As she carried the plates of food to the table and set them down in front of the three men. Russel, looking up, stared at her. "Yo, what happened to you?"

This caused Murdoc to look at her as well; he was too close for comfort. She felt panicked; this was the man that violated her and maybe he was just acting like nothing happened. "Who the bloody hell hit you with their car?" She backed away as Murdoc stood up and got closer to her. Fear ricocheted through her chest like a bullet; Rose winced and began to shake a little as he grabbed her face, examining the bruises. "Of course 2-D would be busted up, but why the hell are you?" She wanted to scream in his face that it was him that did this and that he should burn in hell. But when faced with him, this close, he could hurt her. 

"I fell down the stairs." Rose whispered, ashamed of her cowardice. She could smell the stench of alcohol still on him; her eyes welled with tears. 

"Alright, but be more careful next time, love. Don't wanna end up like this sod." He gestured to 2-D, whom said nothing but kept his head down. Rose sat in the chair between 2-D and Murdoc. 2-D inched his chair away, repositioning himself at least a centimeter away from Rose. Murdoc noticed, glancing between the two quizzically, but decided not to question 2-D's strange habits. Uncomfortably, Russel wouldn't stop staring at her, possibly thinking about something. 

As she rose the fork to her mouth, flashes of last night and Murdoc forcing his way into her mouth went through her head. She dropped it, dashing out of the room and to the toilets, where the contents of last night's supper were cleansed from her stomach. Using the toilet as support to stand up, she rested a moment from the pain of walking. 

She needed to confront 2-D. But first, a while to collect herself and clean up. 

Standing outside of his room, Rose knew that he wouldn't talk to her if she knocked. She didn't know what else to do, so she had to surprise him. Bursting in through the door, the scene almost broke her heart.

He stared up at her, his mouth hanging open in awe, a needle stuck into his arm. He was sitting on the bed, in his underwear, several different types of drugs spread out on a little wooden table. Cocaine, meth, LSD, shrooms, weed and the stuff in the needle, which she assumed was heroin along with a bunch of pills that seemed to look like painkillers. Some were already ground up with the cocaine; a half-crushed pill lay beside it. 

"What are you doing?" She whispered, her face pale.

"Rose, I can explain." 

"What do you mean? This isn't something that can just be explained. You up and avoid me after watching me go through something like that?" 

"Rose." He got off of the bed, causing the wooden table to fall over, the cocaine spreading across his sheets. Rose was in tears; he'd been so kind, so innocent, yet here he was, drowning himself in drugs, something she'd expect Murdoc to do. She'd thought his behavior was normal but she saw it now; clumsiness, delayed reactions, sleepiness. His personality and airheadedness. The person she'd known this entire time, it wasn't 2-D. It was just some random asshole on drugs. 

She slapped his hand away and he withdrew like an abused puppy. He winced. 

"Rose, I don't go up and solve my problems. I don't deal with them like I should and I know that." 

"You think? Why, 2-D? Why drugs, of all things you could be doing?" 

"Because I can't deal with it." 

"You think I can?" 

"You think he only did that to just you?" He gestured to his torso, bruises and bite marks and all.  
There were some that were scarred over and some over the scars and she looked up at him, horrified, her voice a mere whisper.

"But he... are you together?"

2-D ran his hand through his hair, then rubbed his face with his hands. "No, Rose. We aren't. I'm not gay. I'm not gay, alright? I don't like guys." 

"Then why?"

"Because when Murdoc doesn't have a girl around, he comes to me. I deal with it like this." He made an angry gesture to the overturned narcotics. "Between my headaches and being raped the only thing I have is this." 

"Did Paula know?"

"No, she didn't. I haven't told anyone but you." 

Rose mulled this over for a moment. 2-D had suffered so much worse than she did. No wonder he couldn't stand up to Murdoc; the fact he did in the first place was possibly one of the bravest things he'd done for anyone. Rose's shoulders began to shake as she silently cried. "Why?"

"I don't like seeing people in pain and I..." He leaned down, but Rose stopped him. "Rose, what's wrong? If you don't feel the same, I'll understand, I just... why?"

"It's not that," She looked at him, pain in her eyes. "I'm not innocent anymore, 2-D. I'm dirty and ugly and I... just lost everything that made me pure. By force." 2-D paled.

"You were a virgin?" 

Rose nodded, biting her lip and letting out another sob that shook her entire body, trying to look anywhere but at 2-D. "My first kiss was..." She began to cry louder, unable to compose herself. Everything was lost to Murdoc.

"No. It doesn't have to be like that, Rose." Rose looked up at him and 2-D leaned in once more, stopped by Rose again. "We're both dirty, Rose. He got us both." Rose finally stopped resisting as 2-D moved in for a kiss, finally accepting him. His lips smashed against hers, a kiss of blazing passion, full of emotions. Sadness, sorrow, rage, loneliness, pain. But there was also a small spark of happiness as 2-D cradled Rose against his body, their lips moving rhythmically. As he broke away, his black orbs stared into Rose's own as his hand caressed her cheek. Of course, he was gentle, just as Rose had imagined it. "Would you like me to help take the pain away?" He whispered, holding her. 

Rose knew what he meant. Her hands slid into his and she didn't think that she could deal with everything in the past day and she made yet another horrible choice; she wasn't strong enough. So, with a heavy heart and guilt, she nodded her head.

2-D kissed her forehead, leading her to his bed, shutting the open door. "I'm going to show you my world, Rose." 

What neither of them had seen is that Murdoc had been passing by for the duration of the kiss; rage swelled in him as he realized that she'd given her first kiss to someone she shouldn't have. He stood, frozen, at the door. Maybe Rose really was as much of a slag as he'd first thought. The thing he liked most about her was how she didn't just climb into his bed; she was difficult to get in. So then, why was she crawling into 2-D's?


	11. Pre-Phase One, Chapter Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is Aura's Can't Steal The Music!  
> https://youtu.be/PjdnEXQf3sc  
> I really liked this chapter. The characters feel so vulnerable. There's so many flaws to go around.  
> It honestly makes them seem so human..  
> Edited it! There was a little mistake. ^^;;

It was the witching hour.

Three AM.

Thunder cracked in the darkness, causing Rose to shoot up from bed. She felt the place 2-D was supposed to be beside her for comfort, as they'd fallen asleep together, but he was missing. Sliding out of bed, she found him having fallen on the floor. She smiled at how absolutely peaceful he was despite having falling out of his own bed; she did her best to drag him back into the bed, surprised he didn't wake up. She'd kiss him gently on the forehead.

Rose quickly opened his door and left 2-D's room; people would ask questions if they found her leaving in the morning, questions she didn't have the ability to answer. There was nothing between her and 2-D beyond a kiss and some cuddles; he'd sworn to her that he wouldn't take comfort in her body unless she wanted it. 2-D was expressively thoughtful; something you didn't see often in a man.

The drugs didn't fix anything and the bruises were still plastered on her skin but if she said she felt better she wouldn't be lying; maybe it was just 2-D. It was November the second; in three days, the band had a sort of live show at the Camden Brownhouse. Murdoc was really proud of that. They'd recorded some songs, made some songs, sent some to some EMI A&R man. Rose was being forced to go; they'd told her that she was needed in case the band needed something. 

As a shadow raced across the hallway, she gasped, turning her head towards a loud clattering noise. There was nothing but darkness and a nervous Rose. She quickened up her pace; racing towards her room by powerwalking. She didn't believe in the afterlife and the paranormal and the anything that couldn't be explained by science; it had to be Noodle messing with her, or something.

As she wrenched open her door, her face paled. A silhouette stood in her room; she was about to freak out when it stepped into her line of sight where she could see through the darkness. It was Noodle, who seemed to have a tear-stained face. She ran right into Rose, wrapping her arms tightly around her, crying. Thunder cracked again and she screamed, shaking. "Noodle," Rose knelt down, wrapping her arms around Noodle and gently stroking her head, Noodle's face in her shoulder. "It's alright. You don't need to be scared. I've got you, it's okay." Rose lifted Noodle, something Noodle usually had a problem with, shutting her door by using her foot. She laid Noodle in her bed and placed the covers over her before getting in herself, her arms wrapping around the scared child, creating a protective little world where both could simply fall asleep without a worry.

When Rose came to, Noodle was sleeping soundly. She did her best not to wake Noodle as she pried her arms away from the sleeping child; sunlight peeked through the window. Rose made sure to pull the blanket back up to Noodle's neck. The child comfortably settled into Rose's bed and she smiled, backing away silently before slipping out of her room.

However, when she turned around from shutting her door, she came to face to face with Murdoc, of all people. Her breath caught in her throat and even a single second felt like she was suffocating for a year; the look on his face meant nothing good.

"So, had a shag last night, did we?" Did he mean... did he remember? But that wasn't last night... "Caught you snogging 2-D, getting into his bed. Thought you weren't a slag?"

"That's not what you think it is." She tried to explain in some sort of way, not sure why she was trying to justify herself to him. Maybe it was the fear.

"Then what is it, if not you getting it?"

"It's just... it's not that."

"If you don't tell me, I will go and pay a nice and lengthy visit to 2-D. You can bet that I'll have him telling the truth by the end of it." Rose gave him a glare; one that had Murdoc taken aback. At the moment she was trying to judge whether it was a sexual visit or one to abuse the shit out of him. "Fine, off I go."

She grabbed his arm, the words caught in her throat, absolutely repulsed at the fact that she had to touch him to stop him. "Wait,"

He chuckled before turning back to her, shaking his head. "2-D isn't the pure little child you think he is, Rose. He's not a good person. Sure, he was with Paula, but how much did she have to ignore the pathetic sod to get him tripping head over heels for her? You think he dates girls often? Here's a little advice; he's never that interested." With that, Murdoc was off down the hall and Rose bit her lip.

How often did 2-D date girls? Honestly, nothing he's said or done made Rose think, at all, that 2-D wanted to get into anything serious with her. There was no indication he was looking for anything more; Rose knew now that just because someone kissed her, or did what Murdoc did to her, it didn't mean they wanted to get married, exactly, or even begin seeing one another.

Paula did seem to ignore 2-D, from the times that she'd been in the same room as them. Fear set in her heart; what if 2-D didn't want to be the way that she wanted to be with him? She couldn't talk to him about it, because she didn't want to risk him saying that he didn't.

Rose breathed deeply before heading to the kitchen, her meal plan saved for the day. As per usual, the band ate together, minus Noodle due to her tendency to go to bed late and sleep in, they all had breakfast. Rose made sure to cake Noodle's in saran wrap on a plate so when she woke up she'd simply have to nuke it in a microwave. For a child, Noodle was surprisingly independent.

Rose's day was simple; she was cleaning around Kong studios, and that was simply it. Her night, not so much. She and 2-D sat on his bed and his lips were on her, his hands tightly squeezing around her as if he wanted her close to her body. The tightness was almost making it hard to breathe; he was acting as if letting her go would kill her. "2-D, do you... do you like being around me?"

He gazed at her, his face twisting into a frown. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

"I was just wondering... if you wanted this to be something."

"Isn't it already something?"

"An official something."

2-D was silent for a moment before sighing, getting off his bed. Rose felt like she had fucked something up; her heart dropped when 2-D shook his head. "No, Rose. We can't be something."

"Why not?" Now she was the one asking why.

"Because Murdoc... I can't have a girlfriend around Murdoc. There's no telling what he'd do to either of us and Paula..."

She laughed, bitterly. "I'm not Paula."

"Murdoc is still Murdoc."

"You think I'd cheat on you with Murdoc, of all people? The man who raped me?"

"He raped me too." Rose stood, walking towards the door, absolutely done with the conversation. "Where are you going?"

"You missed my point entirely. I'm not Paula. I wouldn't cheat on you. The fact that you think I'm remotely anything like her hurts me."

"Come back. I swear to god I won't compare you to Paula anymore."

"You've been comparing me to her?"

"Wait, Rose!"

He tried to stop her from leaving the room but she slammed the door in his face. Of course, 2-D would compare her to his cheating, lying ex who decided to play doctor with Murdoc in the bathroom. Maybe, and this was a very strained maybe, Murdoc was right. Was anyone in this fucking studio a decent person? She stormed down the hall, turning, bumping straight into Murdoc.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" He asked, grinning as he leaned against the wall. That smile of his chilled her to the bone as every time she looked at him flashes of that night came back to her and made her sick to her stomach once more.

"Nowhere." She murmured, visibly upset. Murdoc shook his head and offered her his hand. She made a point of not accepting it; he sighed as she got up on her own.

"You're clearly pissed, so come with me. Official Kong business." When he put it like that, she couldn't refuse, which pissed her off all the more. Nodding, he motioned her forwards. She followed. They came to a room with double-doors and he opened them. Rose's jaw almost dropped open; Kong Studios had its very own movie theater? He sat down, a pile of DVDs sitting in front of him. He began to dig through them. "This is where I am when I'm bored."

"I see." Rose cautiously sat on the end of the seat rows. He stared her down.

"What are you all the way over there for? Rose, come here." She got up again, less than happy about the fact she had to sit near him. As she sat, he picked up a DVD, ran up the set of stairs beside the row and into a back room. When he came back, a movie began to play. "Now, I'm no good at cheering up girls but I'm sure you'll love the action in this movie. It's one of my favorites."

Rose sat rigid for the full duration of the movie, listening to Murdoc crack jokes the entire time. She had to admit; she slipped on three, cracking up in laughter with him. By the end of it, she would have to say that she didn't feel as bad as she would have but she was still tense what with her rapist in the room. As she was getting up to leave, she turned to Murdoc. He waited patiently for her to say something. "Thanks, Murdoc. That helped. Really."

"Glad it did, love. Find me here whenever you're feeling down; I wouldn't mind watching a flick or two with you."

Something about this chilled her; he was being so uncharacteristically kind. She felt like he had intentions she didn't know about; she couldn't trust him. Was Murdoc doing this to cheer her up, or for some other reason?


	12. Phase One, Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter?  
> https://youtu.be/eqWpKATpZg4  
> Getting Away With Murder, by Papa Roach!  
> I was really excited to write this!!!

The day of the little live show they had going on came up faster than Rose expected. As the band was backstage, Murdoc in the bathroom, Noodle tuning her guitar and Russel making sure that things on stage were just right, something else was going on backstage. Something that Rose didn't really want to deal with.

"Rose, talk to me. I can't tell what's wrong if you don't say something." Rose was too busy ignoring 2-D to really pay attention to what he had to say; if he didn't know what was wrong then that was his problem. She wasn't going to sit there and play cat and mouse with him. It was either he wanted this or he didn't. The bruises on her face were still there and 2-D was still sporting his black eye, as they'd still be there for a week or two more.

Rose sighed as she collected the mini-M&M's the band had been throwing at each other in boredom while waiting for the show to began, almost having walked over the entire room. 2-D shuffled after her, trying to get her to talk to him, somehow. After four minutes of this, she turned to him, an extremely disapproving look on her face. 2-D hopped back a bit, worry spread across his face like jam on toast.

"What do you expect me to say, 2-D? There's nothing between us. You made that clear." She angrily tossed the glass bowl of M&Ms onto the table, where it cracked and some spilled out. Rose rolled her eyes and made a very agitated noise. 2-D's hand strayed to her arm, but Rose made no move to pull away.

"But there is something between us, Rose. Give me a chance to show you that." 2-D's hands slid down to her waist, bringing her closer, as he made a move to kiss her. As his lips were on her, Rose was lost in passion once more. His lips trailed down from her lips to her neck; he managed to lift her. Rose wrapped her legs around him in fear that he might drop her; 2-D simply smiled that smile of his and her heart fluttered.

He brought her to the table, sweeping the M&Ms off of it, fully breaking the bowl and causing them to bounce everywhere. "Fuck," Rose muttered, "I'm the one who has to clean that up."

"You can do that later." His hands began shakily unbuttoning her shirt, eager to get it off. However, 2-D didn't have patience. He tore it open, buttons dropping onto the table with little clinks.

"2-D!" Rose hissed, not appreciating the fact that he was breaking her clothes, let alone moving like this without asking her. She put a hand on his chest but his weight leaned in on her and as she opened her mouth to protest this once more his mouth was on hers; as he shoved his tongue inside, wrapping his around hers in an extremely invasive manner, she realized that she had no room to move or speak whatsoever. Yet again, she pushed him up; he stopped, gazing into her eyes.

"It's alright, Rose, we like each other. Don't be scared; we can do things like this, and I'm not like Murdoc." Rose was off-put by the fact that he'd even mention Murdoc, let alone not stop when she clearly wanted him to. Yes, she liked him but she wanted to wait to find out if 2-D and her were really going places. He took a breather, a pause, to hoist his shirt off, dropping it on the floor beside the table.

"The concert-"

"We have twenty minutes." Again, 2-D was being pushy, his hand running along her inner thigh, another up her stomach towards her breasts. She struggled against him but he was like Murdoc; stronger than her. Rose wanted to scream, but then the band would run into trouble; not only that but the authorities would be contacted if 2-D was caught. She bit her lip, holding back tears as she begun to realize how truly stuck in this hole she was. It was better than what faced her back in America, however.

"2-D, stop..." She whispered, hoarsely. As he persisted she grabbed his hand and glared at him, to which he let out a little laugh. "2-D, are you high? The others might come back."

"I'm always high, Rose. And if they catch us, that's fine too. We'll just tell them it's a one-time thing, alright?"

Rose scoffed, disgusted. What the hell was wrong with 2-D recently? "Get off!" She shouted, not caring whether somebody contacted the police or not. Her knee came up and hit 2-D in the stomach, from which she rolled off him. She winced as pieces of the glass from the bowl sliced into her hands and knees.

"Rose... did I do something wrong?" 2-D's confusion was clear and Rose sighed. He honestly had no idea the difference between rape and consent. She knew now that she'd never have what she wanted with 2-D and his commitment issues, so she needed to be done with him and now. He took a step towards her, wanting to reconcile, but she took a step back, shook her head and pointed to the door. 2-D lingered for a moment, but bit his lip, nodded and angrily brushed past her towards the stage.

Rose crumpled to the ground, the pain of her hands and knees not the main source of pain at the moment. Sobs racked her body; she buried her head in her knees, wondering what sort of things she must have done in her past life to deserve a life like this.

Murdoc heard these sobs; he peeked in through the door, seeing it was Rose. He slightly opened his mouth but somewhat realized that nothing he could say would probably make it better; he had a bad habit of making it worse. He took a single step into the room, towards her, but his mind got the better of him and he gave up. Turning away, he checked his watch. It was about time to get on stage.

Rose cleared her tears, looking up from her spot on the floor. There was a huge mess, one that she should get to cleaning.

By the time she was done, she heard the cheers of the stage. The Gorillaz were halfway through their second song. As they faded into the third song, Rose quickly left the back room and made her way to the side of the stage, watching 2-D sing. His voice was almost angelic; sadly, him, not so much.

Rose jumped as the sound of gunshots rang through the air; people screamed and the crowd began to scatter. Murdoc grabbed 2-D, seemingly ready to use him as a meat-shield, and Russel ducked behind the drums while Noodle dashed off the stage to the opposite side of Rose. 

A few more rounds were fired off as a man made his way to the stage. He held the shotgun in one hand and a briefcase in the other. "I'm from EMI, and welcome to the label. You'll need to sign a couple things." He held up the briefcase and Murdoc let go of 2-D, pushing him over and quickly jumping down. He was grinning like a fool as the EMI man pointed to where he needed to sign; the faint wail of sirens were getting closer by the second and a nervous Rose walked up to Murdoc, who stopped signing and looked up at her. The smile faded from his face.

When she said nothing, he shrugged and began signing again. As the cops burst in, 2-D hopped down from the stage. "Nobody was hurt, y'see. He was just tryin' to get Murdoc's attention."

"My attention was certainly gotten." Murdoc cackled, signing the very last area.

"Thank you very much," The man tipped his hat, shoving all his files into his briefcase. "We'll be in touch shortly." The police basically let the man walk; Rose didn't know why. It was absolutely insane. 

Rose would sigh; unfortunately, this would bring the attention of one of the cops while they were taking eyewitness reports from whoever had stayed in the building. He stepped towards her and a frown formed on his face before his mouth contorted into a surprised 'o'. It was simply shocking as he took another step forwards. "It's her," He whispered, his face paling. "It's Rose Badling!" The cop shouted. This attracted the attention of the four other cops who'd reported to the scene as they dashed towards her. "I knew that there was a chance we'd find her but I never expected..." He ripped his gun from his holster, aiming it at her. "Hands up, now!" He barked.

Rose slowly rose her hands into the air, her face blank of all emotion.

"Rose Badling, you're under arrest for the murders of Nick and Sarah Badling! Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. Keep your hands up!" The cop snarled. His aim was shaky. Rose took a long, deep breath before exhaling all the air in her lungs.

"Fuck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who are the Gorillaz really inviting into their home?  
> Do you think Rose is really capable of something as heinous as murder?  
> Now everybody knows.  
> What comes next?  
> What will happen?!


	13. Phase One, Chapter Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is called One Call Away, by Charlie Puth.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VC7oU6bkBgU

Shivering, sitting in a dark corner of an alley while shivering behind a dumpster, Rose pulled the thin pieces of jagged glass from her palms, trying her best to keep herself from shaking. She was beside herself with pain; the way that the show went down was not the expected way and the person who came to her defense was the most unexpected hero of the day.

Hearing footsteps approach she drew her knees as close to her chest as possible, hoping that the stranger wouldn't see her feet. She held her breath, tension ripe in the air, the sounds of sirens echoing through the empty streets. Droplets of rain began to fall; soon, what was a mere shower became a downpour. A choked sob escaped her lips; fear running down her spine like the rain. She slapped a hand over her mouth but it was too late.

Whoever was in the alley had heard her. She buried her face in her knees and each footstep, menacingly echoing through the alley as the source got closer, stopped before her. The sound of a lighter snapping open brought her attention to the person in front of her; she rose her head. Above her was Murdoc, looking down on her, no smile on his face. In fact, the look was probably the most serious she'd ever seen him, sober or not.

"So, love, you've gotten away with murder."

He rose the freshly-lit cigarette to his lips and took a long drag, kneeling, before exhaling right in Rose's face. His golden cross reflected light from a nearby streetlamp; it hung, suspended, around his neck, causing Rose to blink for the sake of not getting the shine from it in her eyes. He smelt like booze and smoke; his normal scent. Rose coughed from the cigarette smoke as Murdoc flicked off the smoldering ash.

She stared into his eyes and he, into hers.

"You're not going to turn me in?" Rose whispered, deathly pale. She was looking at, at least, her entire life locked away behind bars. He let out a small chuckle, but any trace of a smile was gone within seconds.

"No, I'm not. But you're going to tell me why. Then I'm going to decide whether or not I should continue to keep you employed." Of course, he was worried for the safety of his band members and himself, especially what with Rose being a murderer. She took another deep breath; perhaps it was really, truly time to tell someone. Get all this guilt off her chest.

She came here for a new life and she got one. Plenty had happened. She'd seen plenty of pain. Plenty of suffering. She'd also suffered.

"My father was abusive. I didn't kill my mother."

"Police told me you shoved her down the stairs and she broke her neck. She got away, crawled across the backyard, but you beat her to death. To be honest, you don't exactly seem like the 'beat to death' type. Then, you stabbed your dad seventeen times and torched the house."

Rose's eyes flicked up to Murdoc. Confusion was scattered across her face, her brow knit into a frown; that wasn't what happened at all. "My father killed my mother. I stabbed him once while he was chasing me and then I grabbed some money and my passport and I ran. I didn't set the house on fire."

"Then who did, love?"

That was a question she couldn't answer. She quietly wiped a tear from her eye, her heart in severe pain. Why was Murdoc even hearing her out? She was a murderer. Murdoc stood and Rose was positive he would just leave her there to rot like the selfish bastard he was. Instead, he removed his leather jacket and draped it over her head. He grabbed her arms, pulled her up and wrapped one around her waist, beginning to walk forward.

Rose panicked. Flashing blue and red lights illuminated the buildings outside of the alley. Across the street, Murdoc's Winnebago was parked on the side of the road. He held her tightly to him, which slightly comforted her. Cops began to search the alley and he tugged the jacket down a little further over her face. One came up to Murdoc.

"Oye, what're you doing down here? Entire area's on lockdown. Psychopath on the loose, mate."

Murdoc sighed, taking another deep puff of his cigarette. "Coming back from a party on the Avenue, mate. Sorry, we'll get out of your way real fast." The cop nodded before signaling to the others. They all brushed past them, ignoring the fact they couldn't see Rose's face. She was frozen in fear, but Murdoc showed no fear, nor did he even hint at the fact he was hiding their target. He guided her forwards, like some sort of guardian angel. It was almost a joke.

Murdoc saving her twice today.

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Shut up." He muttered. She would've taken it as him being rude as per usual any other day, but he was more or less worried talking would attract the attention of the cops. His gray shirt was getting soaked by rain and he looked straight at the Winnebago. He quickly opened the door, gesturing for Rose to get in.

As she did, Murdoc followed and he shut and locked the door of the Winnebago. Rose had thought she'd never enter this hell again; looking at the couch made her sick. But still, today, what Murdoc had done, that was beyond anything anyone had ever done for her.

Rose turned to him, but he was removing his wet shirt; she turned away quickly, hearing another chuckle from Murdoc. "Guess you're really not a slag if even this has you antsy." She heard the sliding of a door and she felt something land on her head; she collected it in her hands. It was a shirt. One of Murdoc's shirts. "You're wetter than I am; the place has no doors, so I'll look away while you get changed. Go ahead." Rose turned back to see Murdoc, who'd replaced the previously wet gray shirt with a new, not-wet gray shirt. Should she trust this? Her fingers dug into the fabric of the shirt he'd given her.

She began to remove her pants, the bruises between her legs still splotchy and extremely visible; as she hoisted her shirt over her head, Murdoc had seemingly broken his promise and looked over.

"Your legs. What happened?" She quickly rushed to put the shirt on. He stopped her, giving a slightly angsty sigh. "Not just your shirt and pants, dumbass. They're not the only thing that's wet. Fork over your underwear." Her face turned red but it seemed like Murdoc wasn't waiting anymore as he wrapped his arms around her, unhooking her bra. She rose her voice to protest but Murdoc pressed a single finger to her lips. "I'm not gonna do anything to you, relax. Not the time."

It was like he was an absolutely different person. She actually felt safe with him at the moment, even though that made her completely crazy. Feeling safe as her rapist was undressing her.  
His fingers hooked in her panties and slowly pulled them down. He was trying to look away as he did so; she stepped out of them and he looked up as he held the shirt above her head and helped her put it on.

"Thank you." She said the only thing she could possibly ever say in this situation; she was probably starting to sound like a broken record. He nodded, walked over to his fridge, opened it and cracked open a beer before taking a lengthy swig. She watched him with cautious eyes, keeping track of his movements just in case.

{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqX_nXbJ04c < switch to this song now!}

"I'm not going to kill you, alright? We have to spend the night here. There's a checkpoint set up around the exits for the night; they think you're still around, which you are, but if they can't find you by morning they'll be gone." So they were checking cars. They really were desperate. She kept standing, afraid of sitting or letting down her guard around him.

"Why did you help me?"

He never took his eyes off her as he set down his beer and dug his hands into his pockets, shrugging. "Dear old dad, once upon a time, did the same to me and more. Don't blame you, really. Living like that ain't living." Could it be that Murdoc saw a bit of him in her? Is that why he took pity? He took a step towards her, reaching out his arms. She flinched, but that didn't stop Murdoc. He picked her up, princess-style, walking to the back room. It was his bed. She was in mass fear. He gently laid her down before turning back. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

Rose had no idea what force condemned her to do it. She grabbed his wrist and he turned back to her, raising an eyebrow as if to say 'what do you need now.' Raising to kneeling on her knees, her lips were against his. She closed her eyes, trying to fathom what brought her to this point. It was ten seconds before Murdoc began to kiss back; without breaking the kiss, he sat on the bed beside her.

She straddled him. His hands moved to grasp her ass. Hers dug into his shoulders. As they broke the kiss, both stared at each other, no words spoken between them. Nothing but body language was required here. He flipped her over, pinned her down on the bed. This time, Rose wanted it. She was fucking crazy to want it, but God, she wanted it.

He was gentle, unbuckling his belt, making sure not to touch her bruises. He removed her shirt. His hand slid in between her legs, his cross hanging down from his neck and brushing against her chest, causing shivers to run down her spine. He knew what he was doing as he positioned his dick once more, slowly but surely inching into her. This time, it felt good. With each of Murdoc's thrusts, she was moaning, lost in the pleasure.

Murdoc grunted above her, both of them beginning to sweat, Rose was almost sure they were rocking the Winnebago. His hips bucked against hers as she grabbed the sheets; Murdoc's head dropped to her shoulder. "Fuck," He whispered, enjoying it as much as Rose was.

With a final moan, Rose came. With a couple of quick thrusts after, Murdoc reached as far as he could manage, his seed spilling into her. He raised his head, staring into her eyes, before locking her into a kiss filled with enough passion to fuel Rose for a little longer. Murdoc pulled out, pulling the covers over both of them. He slid one arm under her and she laid her head on his chest; both of them fell to sleep like this.

Rose had made yet another mistake; but in that moment, she felt so absolutely beautiful, better than any drug 2-D had given her.


	14. Phase One, Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAHczNmBMX8  
> This chapter's song is It's Time For Our Little Talks, a mashup of Imagine Dragons and Of Monsters and Men!
> 
> So, the alphabet is almost through... Which means I'm going to go back and edit all the chapters into numbers lmao I did the alphabet solely for something to do  
> Phase one starts RIGHT NOW, IT'S ALMOST 1999.  
> WE HAVE UNTIL 2018 TO CATCH UP TO  
> UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY CHAPTER BEFORE NOW WAS BASICALLY AN INTRODUCTION/PROLOGUE  
> DO YOU FEEL THE MASS OF THIS FANFICTION NOW?  
> It is NOWHERE close to over, lolol.  
> Far from it.  
> Are you sure you can handle the darkness to come? 
> 
> As for how Rose escaped the cops, I'll leave that to your imagination for now. Here's a hint; Murdoc did something to help.

As sunlight filtered through the broken blinds overhead, Rose awoke. In a panic, she realized Murdoc wasn't beside her and she shot up in bed. Surprised at her indecency, she covered herself. The scent of bacon filled her nose; glancing down the narrow walkway of the Winnebago, there, Murdoc was cooking on a stove. He was wrapped in his robe.

"Good to see you awake, love." Rose was confused as to what was happening; she didn't expect Murdoc to exactly stick around. In fact, she more or less expected him to have disappeared. Then again, this was his Winnebago. Of course, he'd probably have come back for it later. "Now, I don't exactly do this. Mornings-after, you know? Not my style." He scraped the bacon and eggs from the pan onto a plate and brought two forks over, sitting on the bed in front of Rose. He dug into the eggs with one fork while handing Rose the other.

"What's this?" Rose asked, more so meaning why he was doing it. She began to bite into the bacon; Murdoc was much better at cooking than she was. She assumed the only reason he wasn't cooking was because he simply too lazy to do it for anyone else, which deepened the question to 'why now'?

"Well, there's no reason for heavy shit between us, right, love? Most girls I just have a quick fuck with and they're out the door before I wake up in the morning." She made no move to eat the food, cautiously looking up at Murdoc. Last night was a mistake. She had made the biggest mistake she'd ever even dared to try doing; she slept with Murdoc Niccals, of her own free will. "But seeing as you're my assistant, I have a proposal for you."

"Gorillaz' assistant." She corrected him.

"Yeah, right, whatever. Look, clearly I don't shag enough. So, maybe you and I could get some sort of sex friend thing going on, right? All the fun, none of the dead weight of a relationship. How's that sound?" Murdoc grabbed a piece of bacon and shoved it in his mouth, almost making Rose recoil in disgust; she should have expected this from him. She also never should've gotten with him last night; however, something about the way he behaved, the look on his face, the kindness he displayed, it just made her slam her foot into the gas pedal and shoot straight forwards.

Rose had two options; refuse and face being either fired or raped or agree with him and go along with it. The second option, honestly, didn't look too bad to her. It was the first she was more worried about; would Murdoc use her criminal status against her? At the moment, honestly, all she wanted to do was forget the fact her father had existed. The look on his face when she thrust the knife into his abdomen and twisted it.

The panic as she scrambled up the stairs to her room to get whatever money she'd been saving up for a vacation.

Rose swept the food off the bed, causing Murdoc to look at her, confused. Right now, she just wanted to ignore all of the guilt in her head; Rose straddled him again, biting his lower lip, running her fingers through his hair. He chuckled and leaned her down on his bed. "Round two, love, I agree."

As Murdoc's teeth sunk into her neck, leaving little telltale signs that he was there, thoughts and guilt from thinking of 2-D and her father faded away. The drug-like feeling returned. She knew she was doing something wrong, something she shouldn't, especially after she'd told 2-D she wanted him in the way she did.

Her fingernails raked down Murdoc's back as he thrust into her again; she let out a moan, leaning back, Murdoc groaning while speeding up his thrusts. It was so wrong, but so right. "Love, you're so fucking tight." His lips found their way to hers, his hands pinning hers above her head. He brought one hand down to her waist, the other making sure to keep her hands pinned, as he slammed his cock further inside her.

With a final groan, he finished, leaving Rose to see stars.

He climbed off her, fishing into his drawers to retrieve some underwear, which he pulled on along with a pair of faded jeans. As Rose watched him, bunching the blankets up to her chest, she didn't know what she felt. All she knew is that it made her want more of Murdoc, want to see more of him.

The shirtless Murdoc traipsed up the midway of the Winnebago, to the front, where he sat. He quietly lit a smoke, waiting for Rose to get dressed. She rummaged around, finding her panties, sliding them on with her bra. Her now-dry clothes weren't exactly clean, but they were all she had at the moment. As she passed, she glanced into the bathroom. The bite marks were as clear as day on her neck. They complimented the bruises well enough for anyone to be able to think, 'something wrong is going on.' "Fuck," Rose murmured. No doubt they were heading back to Kong.

She placed her hand on her neck, running her fingers along the teeth marks, wincing at the slight pain that came from it. Finally finishing up getting dressed, she followed Murdoc's previous path and got into the passenger's seat up front. Murdoc turned the key in the ignition and they were off to Kong.

The foliage and buildings blurred together as an emotionless Rose stared out the window of the Winnebago. With everything happening, she didn't know what to do or think and now, for sure, she couldn't go out. She also couldn't call the authorities if she got into trouble. The Winnebago jolted and Rose smashed her forehead against the window; it smarted as she rubbed it with her hand. Perhaps now wasn't the best time to think about her problems, especially with the biggest one being beside her; Murdoc.

The night and morning left her with mixed feelings. She'd done something absolutely wrong and now she may have to tell 2-D; but, thinking back to last night, did he really deserve any attention from her? In her chest, there was some heavy shit stirring. They split onto the highway, finally, ten minutes away from Kong.

What she felt for 2-D and what she felt for Murdoc was substantially different; she could say that she liked 2-D and absolutely despised Murdoc, but there was something about the good part of him that kept her wanting to crawl back into his arms. Even now, she lusted for a moment more in his bed. Shame permeated her mind; she felt horrible, yet so good at the same time.

As they pulled onto the property of Kong, Murdoc lit a cigarette and began to smoke. One of his habits Rose disliked; she hated the smell of smoke. Something in her head whispered to simply pack her shit and run. But where would she go? Honestly, she wanted to stay. If not for Murdoc, for 2-D.

Even though he'd done something wrong she wanted to go back into his room, crawl into his bed and watch a zombie flick. But that would be wrong. She'd just had sex with Murdoc, twice. She had to tell him. But, 2-D wasn't in a relationship with her. Was it any of his business who she chose to fuck in her downtime?

Things were getting way too complicated for her now. Murdoc pulled up to the building, let Rose get out of his Winnebago and drove into the parking lot. Rose took a deep breath. There was still the fact of Murdoc not knowing what he did to her, and 2-D not knowing that she slept with Murdoc of her own free will. She could do this. Neither had to know more than they needed to.

And this, ladies and gentleman, marks the end of the prologue. Welcome to the Gorillaz; their world is filled with some crazy shit. It won't be long now before their songs begin skyrocketing; paranormal events start happening, shit starts hitting the fan...

Welcome to Phase 1. Pre-Phase-1 ends here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Outro Song; Ain't No Rest For The Wicked!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSCOYAJd2PE  
> Imagine Rose sighing and beginning the walk of shame through Kong studios.  
> Camera pans out slowly, showing the entirety of Kong Studios.  
> It zooms in through an open window, showing Russel practicing taxidermy, slides down the hall to 2-D shooting up, and down the stairs to show Noodle making a peanut butter sandwich. {Tbh I think she hates jam and all Rose bought was jam, so there was no jelly for Noodle}  
> Down in the parking lot, Murdoc is cleaning up the remains of breakfast while smoking!
> 
> boom  
> Outro.


	15. Phase One, Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to season two, I guess?  
> This season starts off with a bang..  
> And with a song, as usual!  
> All Men Are Pigs, by Studio Killers!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujV9zCpD4AM
> 
> **I REWROTE THE LAST CHAPTER, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT, REREAAAD!**
> 
> ALSO I GOT ART OF ROSE!!!!  
> http://pre08.deviantart.net/9c2d/th/pre/f/2017/135/1/e/mercurite_freebie_by_kawaiisakurapetals-db9b1ax.png  
> AWWW, SHE'S SMILING!!!

June 6th, 1999

Rose woke up, lying on 2-D's arm. Both of them still hadn't slept together; they were taking it more of a slow way. A friends way. They'd fallen asleep watching some obscure zombie movie Rose had never heard of; and trust her, with the way that 2-D spoke endlessly about them that was a shocker. 2-D was absolutely ecstatic, having found it in the dollar drop bin at movie rental store. Cops had eased up on stalking her; it took a while, but Rose could finally leave the studio without being recognized. So far, the band hadn't really been doing anything but making music. She had to admit, it wasn't half bad, but she still wouldn't buy it. They taught her how to help out; the only way she could was really by helping them during recording.

Rose and Noodle took frequent walks through the graveyard in the mornings, Rose simply chattering on about random things and Noodle usually giving one-word replies. Rose could barely believe that she'd been with the Gorillaz for a year now. The small child still takes to Rose's bed during a thunderstorm, while Rose usually falls asleep on Sundays watching a movie with 2-D. She'd fallen into a sort of schedule, one that she didn't mind having.

She stood in the bathroom, the hem of her nightgown fluttering about in an invisible breeze, staring at herself in the mirror. She'd hike the skirt of the nightgown up her leg, wincing. Bite marks littered her thighs, only getting worse as they reached her shoulders. She hadn't told 2-D of her relationship with Murdoc, although they'd come close to getting caught several times. She let go of the fabric bunched up in her hands, causing her bruised and marked legs to be hidden from the world once more.

She'd grab the bottles of pills labeled painkillers. How 2-D had so many all the time, she'd never know. She popped three in her mouth, feeling numb. She wasn't taking them because she was in pain; no, she was addicted. That was the bad part of hanging out with 2-D, he'd gotten her addicted to painkillers. It was a good high, but not as much of a high as having sex with Murdoc.

Russel and Rose frequented the more high-class areas of their shopping district, sheerly to look for some nice clothes. She'd learned plenty about him in the time she'd spent with the band; to an outsider, watching the band go for breakfast at Denny's, she'd look like one of them. Speaking of Russel, he was probably up around now, perhaps working on that bird they'd found dead outside the building last night on a walk with Noodle. Yes, she frequented the graveyard with many of the band members. Murdoc preferred she kept to the Kong Studios properties; it would be much better than anyone finding out the Gorillaz were hiding a killer. When it came to that, nobody asked questions. Only Murdoc was brave enough to bring it up in private; she hadn't told him anything more and he seemed to respect those boundaries, but he was getting pushier.

"What are you up to, love?" Murdoc came marching into the bathroom, donning only his underwear. Rose should be used to it, but she still diverted her eyes, causing Murdoc to chuckle. "You don't change. If it makes you feel better, I could always... slip out of them." He wiggled his eyebrows in Rose's direction. She literally almost doubled over laughing; this was something Murdoc did whenever she looked his way and nobody else was paying attention. It would either look like a joke or suggestive undertones, but Rose didn't quite mind his perverted sense of humor. He stepped closer to her, the fact he was only slightly taller than her bugging him more than anything else. Rose knew that he hated it, even if he never said it; just the look on his face told all of his thoughts regarding their height difference.

They were little things that she felt you'd pick up more once you'd been intimate with someone for such a long time. Rose wasn't exactly content with where she was, but it was better than nothing. Someone for emotional comfort and someone who could fuck her brains out when she needed it. She shrugged, sighing and resting her palms on the sink, leaning over it. "Not much, Muds." It was a cute nickname the band had taken to giving him; his smile became a frown as Rose called him that, however.

"I'd rather you use my full name, love. Perhaps we can take a detour to my love shack and by the end of it I'll have you screaming, 'Murdoc Faust Niccals' at the top of your lungs like you should be." He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him, his hands straying and grabbing her ass as he licked his lips. His tongue was abnormally long for a normal human being; she can't believe that she hadn't noticed that. Now that Rose thought about it, they hadn't been doing anything but vanilla sex so far. Murdoc seemed absolutely satisfied with that. She expected him to be... kinkier. Especially since he had the title of Satanist. Her mind wandered to all the things he could do with that tongue of his; before, she'd have been too ashamed to even think of it.

She'd learned how to live with the guilt, though.

As the sound of the bathroom door opening signaled someone coming in, Murdoc quickly released her, turning to the mirror to check his hair like the narcissistic bastard everyone expected him to be. Rose knew he wasn't acting as he smoothed it out; Russel came in through the door, a toothbrush in hand. "Yo, Rose. What's up?" He sounded happy today; he must've gotten a good rest. Russel had been having sleepless nights lately and Rose had recommended an herbal tea, which, apparently, according to his mood, had worked like a charm. "Muds."

"Nothing much, Russ. Good sleep, I take it?" He grunted, turning on the tap before loading his toothbrush with a lot of toothpaste and scrubbing furiously at his mouth like there was no tomorrow. Murdoc simply washed his mouth with a bottle of alcohol, something that was entirely expected of him.

Rose sighed as she walked down the second-floor hallway of Kong Studios, stretching, before coming to a stop at the set of windows that had a great view of the graveyard. Life was okay. Not perfect, not good, but okay. Most of her work days weren't performed with impatience but she much preferred nights, especially with Murdoc, when he made her mind go blank.

The nights with 2-D were something different, not as effective, but the drugs were good to have around. He wasn't bad company at all; but when she was with him, she was doused in guilt.

As she stared out the window, 2-D came up behind her, his hands out stretching... before the came into contact with her, causing her to jump, begin to run, but trip and fall over. In a panic, she began to crawl away, easily scared, but seeing it was 2-D, she stopped and laughed. "God, 2-D, maybe we should keep the horror to your bedroom." 2-D, however, wasn't laughing. He charged up to her, dropping to his knees and grabbing her leg. "2-D, you're scaring me."

Rose wasn't laughing anymore either as 2-D's fingers brushed against her bite marks. "Did he to this to you?" Her heart fell. She couldn't tell him she was voluntarily sleeping with Murdoc. If she lied, things would be worse than they already were. If she told the truth, she was scared that 2-D would hate her.

Her decision would have to come up fast because saying nothing would definitely be a yes in his head. But she couldn't tell him the truth. "No."

"Don't lie to me, Rose, I know what a mark from him looks like. You don't have to be ashamed, okay?" 2-D's bruises remained but the bite marks had faded over time, no new ones replacing them. "I thought something was wrong, Murdoc don't come to me when he's piss drunk no more."

If he didn't, at least one good thing came out of Rose sleeping with him rather than 2-D. It made her happy to see that her selfish actions had resulted in this, but it didn't make the weight of the guilt feel any better.

Murdoc rounded the corner but froze when he saw 2-D in between Rose's legs. He growled, almost primally. "If you're gonna get it on..." He rose his foot, ripping off his shoe and whipping it at the back of 2-D's head. "At least have the decency not to do it in the hall, you fucking pissant! Even I took your girlfriend for a shag in the bathrooms." He snapped. 2-D fell forwards, his face resting on Rose's chest. His fingernails dig into Rose's legs, causing her to gasp. They sunk in right over the bruises and bite marks, drawing blood and making her feel like she wanted to cry in a world of pain.

This was 2-D's reaction when Paula was mentioned; it was silent rage, painful rage. Usually, Murdoc would crack a joke or two if 2-D was touching Rose in some way and 2-D would tighten his grip, causing some sort of wound to form on Rose's poor figure, already wounded.

Rose must have looked like she was in pain because Murdoc walked up to 2-D, yanking him away from her. A thin line of blood blossomed down her leg as his nails dragged down creating an even worse wound. He threw the poor boy on his back before drawing back his foot and slamming it into 2-D's side before grabbing his hair and pulling him up. "Good boys listen. Bad boys get the shit beaten out of them." He snarled, before turning to Rose. "And you. Get dressed, slag, before you get the same treatment as this pathetic sod." Russ and Murdoc must've gotten in a fight; he was in such a good mood earlier. This was the bad part of Murdoc; frequent mood swings and when he had them there was no chance that 2-D or Rose would be getting off easy. If you thought Murdoc was difficult to deal with now, imagine Murdoc after quite a few drinks and a nasty temper.

Rose nodded as she dashed past Murdoc to her bedroom, casting a wistful glance towards 2-D as she passed by, wishing she could save him in some way. Her eyes widened as she saw Murdoc fiddle with his belt buckle.

The coward part of her caused her to bolt down the hall, not looking back. But she did hear one of 2-D's choked cries. It would haunt her for a while yet.

Life was nowhere close to perfect.


	16. Phase One, Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah... I feel like this is possibly one of the best chapters I've written yet..  
> The song for this chapter is Golden Days, by Panic! At The Disco...  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooEv1cH97HA

Rose huddled in the corner of her bed, hugging her knees. She'd gotten dressed. It'd been an hour and she was afraid to leave her room. Her door opened and her head shot up; a badly broken 2-D stumbled in, naked.

Rose tripped while dashing towards him, off her bed, but shook off the pain and grabbed him by the shoulders to support him. Sizing up his body, trying not to look at his lower region, she realized he was badly wounded. Cuts dragged across his torso.

"A, a pocketknife. He used a... pocketknife." 2-D was shaking, horrified, in pain. Rose began to cry; she knew that Murdoc was like this but she couldn't understand why. Maybe she wouldn't ever; she thought she was doing some good when 2-D said Murdoc hadn't come to him.

Rose wrapped her arms protectively around 2-D, his face pressing into her chest. The man was nothing more than a child in her arms, crying, being cradled as she whispered words of comfort into his ear.

Her heartbeat seemed to calm the frightened man. He rested in her arms and slowly nodded off. The door swung open once more and a terrified Rose gripped 2-D tightly, so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Murdoc, his pants unbuckled and fly open, stumbled in with a bottle of whiskey in one hand. "Happy birthday to me, right, love?" He tilted his head back, tipping the bottle with it. Only a few drops dripped onto his tongue and in a small, short burst of fury, he whipped it across the room. The bottle smashed against the wall and Rose let out a scream, followed by sobs. "Let go of 'im." He pointed to 2-D. When Rose didn't comply, he got more aggressive. "I said let go of him!" Murdoc shouted, stepping towards her. Rose dropped him, dragging herself backward with her hands. Blood began to stain the carpet red as it pooled from 2-D's wounds.

Rose watched in horror as Murdoc slid off his pants. They dropped to his ankles and he shut Rose's door behind him. Stepping out of his pants he got on his knees and positioned 2-D on his hands and knees. "You know, this was my dear dad's gift to me all those years ago." His fingernails sunk into 2-D's hips and the man let out a whimper. "You know what me dear old dad said? He said, it's okay, it'll be over soon."

Murdoc smashed his hips against 2-D's and the blue-haired man screamed in pain as Murdoc roughly slammed into him, over and over, his usual grunts now feral growls.

2-D reached out to Rose, his tears and blood mixing together as he cried. His fingernails raked against her carpet and Rose sobbed; this scene terrified her, absolutely scarred her.

With another quick thrust of his hips Murdoc threw his head back and released into 2-D, before removing himself. As he moved to get up, he fell to the ground, beginning to snore. 2-D twitched and shook, his eyes open, tears streaming from them as he stared at Rose.

His eyes were like an endless abyss. He wasn't moving; it honestly looked like he was having a stroke. But finally, 2-D fell over, his eyes coming to a slow close. Both men were on the floor, passed out. On her bedroom floor. God, what if Noodle came in and saw this? Rose had to do something. Her door didn't have a lock, so she needed to do it fast.

She quickly hooked her arms under 2-D's, trying to drag him to the bed. It took a few pulls to get him going, but she took a step onto the bed, pulling him up with her. Rose was struggling immensely with this, as 2-D weighed more than she did.

Rose grimaced as she finally got him up, lying his head down on the pillow, blood staining her blankets. Rose quickly dashed to the hall, glancing back and forth to check for Noodle, as she took a trip to the kitchen to retrieve the first aid kit. Successfully doing so Rose sprinted down the hall and back into her room.

Rose put the first aid kit down on her bed and opened it, taking out the peroxide. The cuts looked clean but knowing Murdoc his pocket knife had probably been rusty. "Sorry," Rose would whisper as she would splash peroxide on his cuts. It began to bubble up, just as she'd suspected. 2-D stirred, his face twisting into a pained one, as he slept. He began to make noises and a worried Rose stopped applying the peroxide; she'd cleaned each cut, hopefully thoroughly enough. 

She didn't have much gauze, and most of his cuts weren't that deep so she simply resorted to putting three bandages on each cut. It wasn't practical, but it was all they had. As she finished patching up 2-D she'd tuck him under the covers, shoving him towards the wall to make room for Muds. 

Her fingers brushed over the sharp scissors in the kit; picking them up and intertwining her fingers in the handle, she'd walk over to Murdoc. She'd kneel beside him, raising the scissors above her head. This would produce enough strength for her to be able to get the blade through his neck, right? It would be just as easy as killing her father was. Still, she hesitated. 

If hell existed, she was going there anyways. 

She brought the scissors down, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Fuck!"  
Rose was nothing more than a coward. The scissors pinned her hand to the carpet, as blood bubbled up through the wound. She was in shock; she didn't feel it at all and she doubted she would for a while. Still, her hand twitched, pinned by the scissors. Blood was beginning to stream down to the carpet; it was very clear that her self-inflicted wound was much deeper than any of 2-D's. 

Rose couldn't kill Murdoc. Half of her looked down at the drunken, sleeping asshole with hate, but the other half inside her wanted to protect him like she wanted to protect 2-D. He'd protected her. He'd also done things to Rose that made her want to die. In a way, perhaps she'd speared her hand with scissors as self-punishment for both trying to kill Murdoc and being unable to take it upon herself to do one selfless action to save 2-D. 

Rose began to cry, but she knew she had to help Murdoc. With her free hand, she began to pull on the scissors, which were wedged in there so tightly it made her sick. Finally, it was free, and she could examine the hole she made for a split second as blood began to burst from her hand, rapidly bubbling up. 

Rose felt like she deserved any wound she gave herself. For being such a pathetic fucking coward. Still, she silently wrapped her hand in gauze, which quickly became soaked with blood. Now it was Murdoc's turn to be dragged over to her bed. Nobody said she couldn't be passive aggressive, so she purposely dropped him so he'd bonk his head off the floor at least once. "Oops." Rose muttered, filled with vile self-hatred. 

Rose wasn't as gentle with him as she'd been to 2-D, using whatever methods necessary to get him into the bed and throwing the covers over him without even tucking him in, yet making sure to fix the blanket for 2-D so he wouldn't be cold. 

Rose slid down her wall, tears dripping from her blank, emotionless face as she stared at the door. Now, all there was to do was wait. It must've been hours before 2-D began to stir, causing Rose to turn her head towards the now-sitting up 2-D. He was staring at his arms, looking at the band-aids. "Rose?" He murmured. She could tell he was dazed, possibly in pain. She got to her feet, the pain from the wound finally kicking in, her hand spazzing out a little, twitching. The painkillers she was on must've worn off hours ago. 

"Let's get you into your bed." Rose murmured. She'd dig through her closet and pull out a light blue dress, one that would surely accent 2-D's hair well. "I'm sorry to make you wear something like this, but it's better than a walk of shame. Hands up." 2-D didn't even seem to register what he was doing but he obeyed; she quickly slid the dress over his head and grabbed his hands, pulling him off the bed. He'd stumble forwards but Rose was there to catch and support him. She tried to hold her pain and tears back; she could tell it was painful for 2-D to walk. 

"Where... what's goin' on?" He looked at her and she looked back, lost in the abyss of his eyes. She didn't have an answer for him. He'd been through something horrible and being honest and telling him the truth at the moment didn't seem like the best idea. 

"My room, but we're taking you back to yours. Don't worry. The pain will go away soon." Rose didn't think it would. In fact, she thought that it would come back soon enough. Again. And again. And again. A neverending cycle of fucking hell. 

Murdoc had made a liar of her. 

2-D's influence had made her want to down some pills and just lose herself in Wonderland.

Rose honestly couldn't recognize herself as much anymore; she felt distant like she was watching her life play out like a movie. Maybe it was a side effect of the drugs but she felt so disconnected, all of a sudden. 

Maybe it was sitting in a room with nothing but blank thoughts for a couple hours.

Rose quickly dropped 2-D off at his room, making sure he got into bed and swallowed a couple painkillers. She also stole some from his stash; Rose was sure 2-D wouldn't mind, especially with the fact the gauze was now entirely soaked in blood. There was a bloody handprint on one of 2-D's arms but Rose couldn't bring herself to wipe it off now. 

Walking back to her room, she opened the door, the only visitor left being Murdoc who was slowly coming to. "Where... Agh, my head. Where the hell am I...?" 

"My room." 

He sat up in the bed, staring directly at her, his eyelids half closed. He looked like he was about to pass out. "What.. what day is it?"

"The sixth." 

"Of June?"

"Yes, Murdoc, of June."

He dropped back down into her bed, groaning and rubbing his face. "Either let me sleep the day away or bring me some spirits. Whatever makes the day go by faster."

"What's wrong with today?" She should be yelling at him. Even trying to put up a fight, trying to be angry, but there was something inside her that made her want to crawl into bed and fall asleep beside him. She couldn't stay mad at him. Her rage just faded with time. 

"Birthday." Was it his birthday? Rose paused, frowning. It wasn't marked on the calendar on the kitchen. Why on earth had nobody told her? More importantly, why was he drinking? He turned over in her bed, away from her, seemingly trying to fall back asleep. "I hate my birthday."

"Going to tell me why?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Shut the fuck up unless you have some sort of hangover cure. Get lost. Go away. Or make yourself useful, whatever..." His voice got quieter and Rose was sure he was slipping into sleep; she couldn't really do anything if Murdoc didn't want to tell her, but she felt like it was bad. 

Rose looked down at her hand, small droplets of blood still dripping to the floor from it. She felt a bit lightheaded. Maybe she should just sit down. Close her eyes for a little while. She spotted the area she'd been sitting in for all those hours; was there supposed to be that much blood there? 

She'd clean it up tomorrow...

With that, Rose dropped to the floor, her blood loss pulling her into unconsciousness..


	17. Phase One, Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoK5BjlmGBY  
> The song for this chapter is called Honey Whiskey by Nothing But Thieves...  
> Thank you for all your continued support!

"Mom, can you please pass the toast?" Rose's mother was a short yet stout woman with rosy cheeks and a smile that lit up the world, even in the darkest of times. Rose absolutely idolized her; a woman with strength, with morals. It seemed like nothing would break her mother. Sarah Badling, a woman who the world was against.

"Only because you said please." Rose's mother would quickly butter the toast; Rose wasn't quite sure how her mother had gotten as fast as she was at that because there was no way Rose could butter toast quite that fast. It must be a mom thing, years of raising Rose to the girl she was today. As Rose reached to take the toast, her mother rose it out of her reach. "Ah, ah, ah. What do I always say?"

"Remain strong, because tomorrow will always be a better today?" Rose grinned as her mother nodded proudly, plopping the toast down on Rose's plate. She placed her hands on her hips and made a superwoman pose while nodding.

As the light from the windows in her home's kitchen faded, Rose found it harder and harder to see even her hands in front of her. As she felt sleepier and sleepier, more and more lost, a hand grasped hers. A light was in the distance and she felt so much shorter; beside her was her mother, albeit taller than her. As they came closer to the mirror, Rose saw a reflection of herself as a child. She was scared, bruises littered her face, her arms, all the way down to her ankles. One of her eyes was swollen. Her pretty white dress had droplets of red from a tiny nosebleed; beside her, her mother sported matching bruises. 

Her mother knelt beside her, wrapping her arms around Rose protectively. "You'll grow up strong, baby. I'm sorry. I can't stop him from hurting you. I'm so, so sorry." Rose's hands strayed to her mother's arms, the woman who she admired, admitting to being unable to protect her.

"That's okay, Mommy. Please just kiss where it hurts better." Rose raised her wrist where a nasty cut was inscribed into her flesh; letters. Her mother's slender fingers caressed the wording and Rose winced. A sob came from Sarah; the woman who hated the man she loved so much she couldn't bring herself to leave him.

"Rose, these words are a lie, alright?" Rose couldn't understand what her mommy meant. If they're a lie, did that mean that daddy wasn't telling the truth? Weren't adults always supposed to tell the truth? "You're not what he says, okay, baby? You're not the devil's child." Sure as fire, Rose's own father had carved what he thought of her into Rose's arm with a pair of car keys. It was painful, but Rose was numb from shock so she barely felt it. "Rose, I love you. And other people will come to love you too. You just have to give them the chance to, so stay strong, alright?" 

As her mother faded into the darkness, little Rose cried out, alone and afraid, surrounded by nothing but her fears. 

Rose was herself again. 

Except she was screaming.

"Fuck you! You fucking bastard! Fuck! Fucking! You!" The knife was smooth. It was like it was weightless as she rose it above her head and brutally assaulted her father. She said it had only been one stab of the knife. "She was everything to me! And you fucking! Killed her!" The pure rage washing through Rose led her to stab him again. Again. For a total of three times. For the bullshit he'd put them through only to take everything. As she broke down into tears, she stumbled into the backyard where her mother was barely recognizable. 

As she dropped to her knees, it began.

"You let him kill me, Rose." 

A horrified Rose didn't want to look up. She knew if she did, she'd see the bloody, torn apart carcass of her mother talking to her. Speaking. 

"This is all on you."

Rose slapped her hands over her ears and let out the loudest scream she could manage. If she blocked it out, it would stop. It had to stop.

"I couldn't save you so you let him kill me. You could've helped me, Rose. You abandoned me! You didn't even check for a pulse, Rose!" Her mother was screaming at her now. The sound of rushing water was almost deafening; Rose didn't know how to make it stop. She just wanted it to stop. "Look at me! Fucking look at me, you coward!" Rose dropped her hands into her lap and slowly tilted her head upwards.

Her mother's neck, at a twisted and unnatural angle, had a bit of bone sticking out. Blood ran down her body, but the expression on her mother's face was possibly the most disturbing thing of all to Rose. It was a chilling smile, a pleasant one.

"You should've died with me back then. But you ran away. But you're coming back to me now, aren't you, Rose? You're going to burn in hell with me." 

Rose screamed as the heat turned up; flames seared away her flesh and she clawed at her eyes, guilt eating her away inside out. 

Her eyes snapped open and she began to panic, but her head was slammed back down into Noodle's lap. "Fixed. Sit. Stay." Rose broke down into tears, curling up into a ball, but Noodle was unfazed as she gently pet Rose's head. "Good boy." Rose had no idea what was up with Noodle and her way of speaking, but she did know that Noodle watched dog training programs in English. Perhaps she just wanted to learn certain commands that would help her communicate.

For some reason, Noodle's fingers running through Rose's hair was possibly one of the most comforting things Rose had experienced in a while; along with Noodle shushing her cries. Rose didn't even mind being treated like a dog.

It was about ten minutes before Rose calmed down; the dream she had seemed so real. Of course, she couldn't recall how she got to Noodle's room. She rose her hand, which seemed to be properly bandaged. She reached to unwrap it to check what had been done to it, but Noodle smacked her hand before it even came close to touching the bandage. "No. Bad." Noodle's other hand snaked onto a plate of cookies. She grabbed one before waving it in front of Rose's face. "Treat? Treat?"

Okay, so being treated like a dog was a little humiliating but Rose's stomach growled and she nodded, her throat so parched she felt like if she spoke it would hurt her throat. She opened her mouth and Noodle gently placed the cookie in it; she bit down and chewed, swallowing. It was good to eat. She didn't feel the best, though. 

It took a while for her disoriented mind to become oriented; for her to recall all that went down. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled, wondering how she'd deal with things. A knock resounded on the door. Noodle glanced over temporarily before gently moving Rose's head off her lap and walking over, opening it.

"Yo, Noodle, I need-" Russel paused, staring directly at Rose, who found it a little difficult to move, like her limbs were stiff. "Rose... You've been gone for a week. The fuck you been, woman? All we found in yo room was blood!" An entire week!? That explains why she felt like her throat was on fire and her stomach was literally devouring itself with pain. 

"I don't... know." Rose croaked. All she knew was she lost a lot of blood and that Noodle must've dragged her into her room and patched her up. She couldn't really speak at the moment, but if she could've, God, the stories she could've told. Not that she ever would.

Rose struggled to sit up and Noodle was by her side, supporting her. It was quite easy to see that without Noodle supporting Rose's weight that Rose would collapse and fall over. Rose had no idea how Noodle saved her, or how Noodle even got her here with nobody noticing. Kept her here with nobody noticing. 

As they traveled out of Noodle's room, Russel made sure Rose didn't fall over. "Yo, let's go hit Denny's. Muds is in the kitchen, 2-D's in his room, both are on the way."

Noodle nodded. Rose would've voiced her opinion, but unfortunately, her throat was a little too sore... she was just glad that she was getting food, although, in her current condition, she was completely useless.


	18. Phase One Chapter Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you wanna have full-time access to speaking with me?  
> you want personal updates?  
> You want answers to all of your questions?  
> You wanna have some fun?  
> Join the new Discord Chat, Mercurite's Lounge, and you'll have full access to the newest pieces of art before the next chapter even comes out! You'll be able to ask how much longer it will take and any sort of questions you have will be answered!  
> https://discord.gg/34sdDCV  
> I hope to see you there! ^^
> 
> The song for this chapter is Housewife Spliffin', by Angie!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw5-z-5Ylzc

It was a silent ride to Denny's and even more silent torture was displayed as they were led to their table by a waitress. Noodle sat Rose down and 2-D went to sit down next to her but Noodle drove her foot in between his legs, causing him to crumple as she took her prize; the seat next to Rose. Rose felt much too malnourished to even contemplate scolding Noodle at the moment. She was just glad to be eating.

Murdoc sat across from Noodle, on the other side of Rose. He began to reach his hand across the table to Rose's, clearly curious. "So this is where all that blood came from, is it? Did you go through your hand or something, love?" Noodle's hand lingered over her fork. As Murdoc was simply a moment away from touching Rose, she drove the fork through Murdoc's hand, pinning him to the table.

Murdoc's jaw dropped open as he stared at the fork in his hand, then glanced up at Noodle. A waitress screamed, dropping her tray of drinks which drenched Murdoc. The pinned down hand's fingers curled into a ball; the veins on his hands popped up, looking angry, as his lip began to contort into a cross between a sneer and a snarl. He looked like he was about to snap.

"What the bloody fuck did you spill that on me for, you dumb slut?!" He yelled, ripping his hand off the table. The fork was still stuck in his hand, but Rose was dazed. She honestly could barely perceive the fact Murdoc was yelling, let alone where she was. Murdoc would get aggressively violent as he shoved the poor waitress, who tripped down the small set of stairs to the higher area of the restaurant.

"What in blazes is going on here?" A man with a chef's hat exited the kitchen, rushing towards the waitress.

"Look what that bitch did to my hand!" Murdoc pointed at the fork in his hand. Russel and 2-D said nothing; Noodle just shook her head. Rose would've protested, but as she opened her mouth to speak she was rendered silent by her parched throat. The chef stared the girl down and she frantically shook her head, an absolute mess.

"Sir, if you'll remain seated I'll call the authorities-"

"No. Give me my food free and I won't press charges." So that was Murdoc's play. He was probably still pissed at Noodle, who didn't seem scared at all. The chef glared at the waitress, but complied, nodding. Murdoc got back in his seat as the girl swore to heaven and back she wasn't the one who did it, not that the chef was listening. He lit a cigarette, not giving a fuck about the fork stuck in his hands nor the no-smoking rule in the restaurant. "And you, you little fuck," He gestured towards Noodle, leaning forwards menacingly. "When I get my fucking hands on you, you're going to regret doing that."

This time, it was Russel who slammed a knife into the table, making Rose jump despite her delayed reaction. Murdoc's lip turned once more upwards into a sneer and the look Russel gave him made the entire table fall completely silent. Not even Murdoc made a sound. "You ain't putting your fuckin' hands on shit, Muds. And if I find out you do, I'll fuck you up. You get me?" Noodle stuck out her tongue at Murdoc and he simply rolled his eyes. Rose would've laughed if she could; if Russel thought a threat would stop Murdoc, he was wrong. That man did what he pleased, when he pleased, whether people consented to it or not.

As another waitress was replaced by their previous, coming to take their orders, everyone ordered pancakes except for Murdoc, who demanded whiskey and steak. The girl tried to protest that only their breakfast menu was on, but a growl from Murdoc put her into top gear as she dashed back into the kitchen.

"Muds, it's breakfast. Why are ya ordering steak?" 2-D asked. Rose was surprised how everything simply resumed as normal, the conversations. They actually looked normal in public, but what went on behind closed doors was anything but. It was like a dirty little secret you tried to hide in the back of your closet, but it couldn't quite fit and it was overfilling to the point of spilling out the doors.  
"Because I fucking want to. If you have a problem with that, keep it to yourself." He snapped. Rose could tell he was in a bad mood; even if she could speak, she wouldn't. A waitress shakily brought their drinks; a bottle of whiskey for Murdoc, an orange juice for 2-D, an apple juice for Noodle, chocolate milk for Russel and a glass of water for Rose. Noodle wasted no time standing on her chair, picking up the water and lifting it to Rose's lips. As the liquid ran down her throat, the soreness got worse. "The fuck is this stupid brat doing now? Look at her, eh? No manners." Normally, Murdoc seemed to like Noodle but at the moment he was just lashing out at every little thing like it bothered him.

Rose could finally swallow rather than just let the water trickle down her throat; she brought her hands up to the cup, gulping it down rapidly.

"She was in Noodle's room all that time, yo." Russel pitched in.

"Why didn't you tell us, Noodle?"

____________________________________________________________________________

**NOODLE BLIND RAGE MOMENT**

Noodle smashed her fists into the table, causing Murdoc to fall off his chair. What they heard and what you will hear are two different things; I am providing a handy translation for you. "Didn't tell you?! Didn't tell you?! You bastards had your heads stuck up your asses all this week while Rose was sick! There was red everywhere! I dragged you. You told me to fuck off!" She pointed towards Murdoc with a sharp glare. "You just couldn't keep up and wandered off!" With one hand, she'd smack 2-D across the face. He'd stare at her, confused, his eyebrows knit into a tight frown as he tried to understand her Japanese. "Russel was just too fat to push anywhere."

**NOODLE BLIND RAGE MOMENT END**

________________________________________________________________________________

Rose stared at Noodle, unable to comprehend a single word coming out of her mouth. However, the poor child was heaving, taking heavy breaths from not even pausing for a moment to stop the string of words coming from her mouth.

"Did.. did anyone understand that?" Murdoc's voice was low as his eyes darted from Rose to Russel. It was as if he was trying to make sure Noodle didn't hear what he said; however, she did. As the waitress placed Noodle's food in front of her, she slammed her face into it and refused to look up.

Rose sipped her refilled water as she took a bite out of a pancake. Murdoc tore into his steak; she was absolutely positive that it was barely cooked, but he didn't honestly seem to care, red juices running down his lips. He ate like a savage.

2-D, whose appetite seemed to have faded, stabbed at his pancake with his fork, while Russel, unfazed, ate as if everything was normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was shorter than the others because the plot must move forwaaards!  
> I just figured you'd want to see this more or less fluffy moment.  
> Since it's rare and all.


	19. Phase One, Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Severe warning.  
> The song for this chapter is  
> Lemon Eyes, by Meg Myers.  
> https://youtu.be/PqG9hsjLf3M
> 
> For those of you who've missed the discord chat, it's really fun and really active~ We'll have fun! C'mon!  
> https://discord.gg/34sdDCV

It had been a couple days since Rose had returned to the Gorillaz from her missing status; she'd been feeling a lot better since, but it was a little difficult to integrate herself back into the normalcy. Her cravings for painkillers had only gotten worse; she was trying not to take them after she watched Murdoc do what he did to 2-D.

Rose was worried that if she continued down the path she was going, she'd only become more and more vulnerable. She was already a consenting wreck, so the additional damage she was doing wouldn't make it any better. Rose was thankful to Murdoc for giving her a chance to recover from her condition; he hadn't gone to her for any sexual visits recently. Not that Rose was complaining, it just made her feel a little more... lonely.

Her days were pretty calm and nobody was urging her to clean anything. In fact, she thought she saw 2-D cleaning the kitchen yesterday and Noodle vacuuming the stairs. Even Murdoc actually threw something into the garbage rather than leaving it on the counter. It was like the Gorillaz were growing up; it brought tears to her eyes to imagine the day they finally cleaned up after themselves.

Everyone except Russel seemed to have problems with that; she tried busting into Russel's bedroom to clean it but it was already as clean as could be with a made bed. Russel honestly seemed like the only member who had his shit sorted out although his room smelled worse than a graveyard, what with all the taxidermy projects on display.

As Rose walked into the lounge area, she noticed a staggering amount of booze stacked in the corner. Murdoc was spray painting the wall; Rose's mouth dropped open as he wrote 'Gorillaz'. She couldn't speak, stunned at the fact he was defacing his own studio with red paint. Rose was also pissed that she'd be the one cleaning it later.

"What are you doing?" She asked, stepping towards Murdoc, who, with a grunt turned to her. He was sporting his normal shirtless look, seemingly used to it; then again, he was almost shirtless every time she turned around.

"Decorating, love. We've got a party to host."

"A party?"

"Yes, love. A rager. A bender. There will be booze and fucking and everything that makes Murdoc happy." He thrust his hips a little, causing Rose to back away. His tongue rolled out of his mouth, resting just a little below his chin. She didn't know which was more disturbing; his pelvic thrusts in her direction or the fact he was referring to himself in third person.

The music blasted as Rose was seated on a couch; how she was sitting here, with one of those cups you'd expect to find in college, red, plastic and easy to break, was not clear. She wasn't sure what was actually in the cup as some guy walked over, tried to talk her up and handed her the drink. She stared into it, not sure if she should drink it or not.

Rose just remembered blankly staring at the wall, then reading a book on the couch in the lounge and when she looked up there was somebody offering her a drink. Speaking of that somebody, he was almost obsessively staring from the other side of the room, perhaps waiting for her to drink from the cup. Rose took his interest in whether she downed the drink or not as a hint to put it down. As she placed it on the table, reopening her book to page 342, where the main character was finally leaving the dragon-infested island, betrayed and holding her dragon love interest's soul in a small bottle around her neck, was heading back to the mainland to be wed to her fiance, the evil tyrant king, to save her family the man quickly passed by her, swiping the cup into one hand and offering it to a different girl who was nowhere near as smart as Rose with it.

She downed it in one gulp before crushing the cup and whooping at the top of her lungs and the happy look on the creep's face meant that he'd gotten exactly what he wanted. Everyone cheered at her drinking skills. The pounding music was beginning to give Rose a headache; she wondered where 2-D was. Speaking of the blue-haired bastard, he rolled in on a cha-cha train, kicking his legs and holding onto some guy's shoulders while cheering, his smile from ear to ear. Seeing Rose, he broke from it, sitting on the couch next to her. "What're you up to, Rose?!" He shouted, almost assuredly making her deaf in one ear. As if the party wasn't loud enough already.

"Reading." She replied as a crash came from behind them. Rose assumed it was one of Kong studio's wide windows. As for what, or who, went through the window, that was fully Murdoc's fault. People roared with praise as he flexed, completely stripped down to his underwear. Rose was glancing long enough to notice a pretty little thing on his arm, who Murdoc began to kiss. It stung a little; a sweet pang of jealousy. She slammed her book shut and tossed it into 2-D's lap. "Done. You should read it. Good read."

2-D held the book like he'd never seen one before. "The Dragon Within?" He read the title aloud, more of a question than actually reading it. She shrugged, disappearing into the crowd, her back to 2-D. The hallways were even more crowded. Bodies moved against one another in lustful fervor as Rose tried to escape it, squeezing through the crowd towards her door. As she opened it, a girl was on her bed, the boy removing her dress. She was clearly too drunk to consent. Was that the guy who tried to hand her a drink?

"Hey, get the fuck out!" He dashed to the door and slammed it in her face. Fuck. If she had any sort of balls, she'd charge back in there and tell them it was her room. She hoped she'd remember to wash her sheets with bleach in the morning because she sure as hell wasn't sleeping tonight.

Out of the corner of her eye, a familiar face flashed. In a shock, she turned to it, her face paling. It was impossible. She became more aggressive with pushing and shoving as she followed the familiar appearance, desperate to chase after the past.

She watched the person dash down the stairs, following them with as much strength as she could in her body. They descended several steps with their little cat and mouse game, into the parking lot. Nobody else was here. She looked around, stepping forwards; Murdoc's Winnebago was parked at the end, and there were quite a few cars parked around. The far end of the parking lot had a little dip which was impossible to look at from her angle. Her flip-flops made the sound they were famous for as she rounded the corner, her eyes seeking, searching.

Finally, she found the prize.

In the little dip, there was a pile of bones. Confused, Rose looked around; it looked like it was in the shape of an animal. Her first thought was that Russel didn't put his hobby to use properly and abandoned and bleached the bones in the parking lot out of laziness; as she neared closer, she noticed a dog collar and a tag on the skeleton. There were also pictures surrounding it; this wasn't something normal.

Cautiously approaching it, she'd lift the collar, the tag resting on her fingers. As if it were in slow motion, it slipped from her hand and the world began to spin and blur as she fell backward, horrified.

"Lacy?"

Underneath her palm, pictures were neatly laid out. She picked up a couple and began to feel her lunch raise in her throat. She released the contents of her stomach onto the floor, sobbing, letting out a scream of mixed rage and terror.

The pictures told a story.

The first picture, there was a traumatized little girl holding a bloody bat. There were a couple more from different angles and the child looked absolutely broken. The second showed a dead dog, its brains smashed inwards. The child was crying over it, tightly gripping the baseball bat.

Only one person was sick enough of a fuck to do this.

Rose stood to her feet. "Where the fuck are you, you sick fucking bastard?!" She screamed into the empty parking lot. The sound of two hands coming together signaled his entrance; he was clapping. As he stepped from around the corner, a wide grin on his face, Rose began to sob, panicking. He was here. He was alive. "You sick fuck!" She screamed, not sure whether to feel angry, upset, defiled, or guilty. Her emotions were switching so fast it was almost impossible for her to keep up with them.

"Is that any way to speak to your father?" His hands fell to his sides and a grimace on his face struck terror in her heart; she froze up. She had been done with him. She had killed him. She had gotten away from him. "You can run, baby girl, but you can't hide."

"You made me do this."

"You didn't listen to me and you needed to be taught a lesson."

"You're a fucking psycho!" Rose screamed. She began to sprint but unfortunately, her father was faster, tackling her to the ground as she began screaming at the top of her lungs, pain only fueling her panic to escape even further. She broke down into sobs and he stood, forcing her to her feet.

"You stupid little fucking girl," The scent of alcohol was easily detected on his breath. "You think you can run? I was in the military for ten years. You think a little flesh wound is gonna fucking stop me? You can't even kill me right."

Rose screeched in pain as he grabbed her hair and quite literally threw her across the ground. She felt the pain of her flesh tearing open against the gravel as she was completely winded, the pain overtaking her. Before she could recover, his foot slammed into her side, causing Rose to let out a silent scream.

The heel of his steel-toed boot came down on her ribs and with a crack, Rose was screaming again, the pain too much to bear. Her suffering was very vocal and she had no doubt that her father was enjoying every moment of it. She tried to crawl away but with another stomp, her arm made a snapping sound. Rose screamed until her throat was hoarse, holding her arm.

"You know, it's your fault that your mother died. It's your fault your precious little mutt died. It is also your fault that our neighbor's husband is missing and dead."

So that was how he did it. He slaughtered their neighbor and set fire to the house so they could only assume whose corpse was in the wreckage. The pain hurt, but Rose slowly but surely began to give up as he tormented her with words. Maybe this was how she was meant to die. The world didn't seem to want her to survive.

It was a shitty fucking place.

She wanted it to end. She wanted it to be over. To just die and make the pain go away.

With a crash, Murdoc smashed the plank of wood he was using to prop up his Winnebago's window into her father's head with enough force for an instant knockout. Murdoc quickly rushed to Rose's side, picking her up, holding her close to him. "You stupid git, what're you doing down 'ere alone?" He carried her into the Winnebago, locking the door behind him. It wouldn't stop Rose's father, but it would give Murdoc time to prepare a weapon if he tried getting in. "We need to get you to a hospital-"

"No," Rose's fingernails sunk into Murdoc's back, who winced, but said nothing of it. "No hospital. Police... Police will be called."

"We can't just fucking leave you like this, idiot." His words were sharp but she was relieved that he'd come to her rescue; how was it that Murdoc was always there when she needed him? When Rose didn't respond, he'd grab his pocketknife from the counter. Rose's eyes grazed over it; yes, definitely rusty and surely caked in old blood. He cut open her shirt, the ripping sound causing Rose to shake. "Rose, was that.."

"He forced me to kill the dog I'd raised for eight years," Rose whispered, her voice shaky. Tears dripped from her eyes as she'd remembered how Lacy looked up at her, her tail wagging, innocently waiting for her master to show her some love. Murdoc stood up, turning his back to her to get a glass of water. It took a moment, but he turned back to her. She tried to raise her arm but cried out in pain.

Murdoc sat down beside her and Rose the glass to her lips, from which she drunk. It was surprisingly bitter; perhaps it was just the fact it came from the Winnebago.

Unfortunately, such was not the case as she felt the world seem to drop as she almost fell back. "Murdoc... what was in that drink?!" She asked, desperately, as she tried to stand up but sunk to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Rose."

"Murdoc..!"

With that, it was lights out for our heroine. Her father had returned, but when they came back to Kong, he would be nowhere to be found.

Welcome to Phase One, Rose's very first antagonist... Nick Badling.

And as for you, the reader, you will gain so much more insight into how dark Rose's past truly was.

 

The light has now dulled. It will only descend further into darkness from now on...


	20. Phase One Chapter Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kFhx27OMdE  
> The song for today's chapter is by The Pierces; You'll Be Mine!

Rose briefly woke up to a bright light. The light had mosquitos quietly buzzing around it; meanwhile, Rose felt like absolute shit. She tried sitting up in bed but gasped as pain coursed through her midsection and arm. Her arm was wrapped in a plaster cast and her midsection was squeezing her. She whimpered in pain but confusedly glanced around the Winnebago. Rose was in Murdoc's bed. 

Her attention snapped to the door as it swung open and a shirtless Murdoc walked in, rubbing his eyes. A grimace sat on his face as he stopped rubbing them, staring at her. "You're awake." He opened the fridge and cracked open a beer. 

"What's going on?" Rose murmured, glancing out of the windows. However, it was nothing but pitch-black out there; she couldn't even see a single streetlight. The clock on the bedside table read three A.M.

"We're four hours away from Kong in a field so far off the highway that only someone with specific directions could get to it." Murdoc stated, plainly, causing Rose to almost believe he was joking. However, with time, Rose would learn that Murdoc barely ever cracked a joke like that. She stood from the bed, her arm and rib sore. There was a fire crackling a couple of meters away from the door, wood stacked up in a pile beside it and a couple of logs for sitting. "I took you to see someone. You said no hospitals so I brought you to a back-alley doctor who owed me a favor." She didn't know how to feel about this, but she honestly couldn't judge because up until today... yesterday, she'd thought she'd killed a man. 

"Thank you," Rose muttered, turning back to Murdoc. He was shirtless, as per usual, but it was better than him having no pants on like he did at the party. "What happened to the girl you were making out with at the party?" Rose had to admit that she disliked seeing that. She thought it was jealousy at the time, but now she felt like it was just the fact that it was some random girl getting with one of the band members. Someone she didn't know.

"Well, funny story, that. We were walking down to my Winnebago in the parking lot, my arm around her waist when she heard a scream. Little bird booked it back up the sodding stairs as fast as she possibly could." Rose didn't doubt that Murdoc was displeased; just by his tone of voice, she could tell he was pissed that the girl got away. "When I throw a party, love, I expect it to be fun, not ruined by attempted murder."

"Well I'm sorry I didn't call my dad ahead of time and schedule my own murder for next week." Rose snapped, disgusted by Murdoc's asshole exterior. He stopped leaning on the fridge and walked up to her. Rose quickly stepped back, her bare feet hitting the cold grass. Murdoc's hand rested on the door.

"2-D an' the others will be here soon, love. Have fun. Probably about two hours." With that, he slammed the door shut in her face, locking it. The rage and pain mixed together as she banged her fist on the door, twice.

"Just when I think you're gonna be fucking nice about something, you're an asshole! What the fuck is your problem, Murdoc!?" She was sick of it, sick of the way she was treated. She shivered; all she had on was some hospital-esque gown. Bandages ran up her forearm, covering the skid marks she'd received from sliding across the floor. When Murdoc simply ignored her and didn't respond, she angrily screamed at the trailer before stomping over to the fire and sitting down, holding her hands above it for maximum warmth. Damn Murdoc for sticking her out here with the bugs! Her stomach growled and Rose realized she was starving. Almost getting murdered must build up your appetite quite a bit, Rose thought. 

Rose was shivering by the time a pair of headlights pulled up out of the woods, her lips blue. Russel was driving; 2-D got out of the car, tripping as it was still moving. He barely waited for Russel to park as he rushed towards Rose with a blanket, wrapping it around her. She leaned into him, desperate for body heat. 2-D's hands ran down her back as he gently rubbed it, taking on a more caring stance. "Rose, god, thank god you're alright." Noodle quite literally dashed out of the car, body checking Rose to the point of her falling over. Rose cried out in pain, but Noodle held her tightly, not caring. It took Russel a couple of minutes to pry her off and 2-D helped Rose back onto the log.

Russel placed a hissing Noodle on the log opposite to Rose but she scrambled off, vaulting over the fire to latch onto Rose. Russel got up to get her again, but Rose shook her head and Russel shrugged, turning to go to the car; nobody else here most likely knew how to set up a tent but Russel. 

"Rose, when Murdoc called, he was really upset. He says that your dad is alive! Is it true, Rose?" 2-D's face only contained concern for her. 2-D tried to keep his voice low while Noodle was clinging to Rose. Meanwhile, in the background, Russel was quickly setting up a tent. Seemingly, however, he'd done something wrong as it caved inwards. He was trying to keep it up but a gust of wind came and blew it away; he chased it down, trying to keep his pants up while only the headlights were bright enough to guide him through the dark. "Murdoc called the police when you were off the grounds; they're searching the place for the psychopath now. Told us to go on and stay somewhere for the night, somewhere the killer wouldn't expect us to be. Camping for a couple days was Murdoc's idea!" 

So that was why the Gorillaz were out in the middle of nowhere. 

But that didn't answer her biggest question; why he drugged her. With all the confusion, she'd forgotten; but now, she remembered. "He drugged me. That bastard drugged me." She snarled, visibly upset. Russel dragged the tent back to the field, this time staking it with metal poles. He'd also forgotten to slide one pole through a side, which he fixed.

"Rose, you were upset! Frantic, Muds said. You were refusing medical help and you wouldn't even let him speak. You'd suffered too much trauma and were in pain so Muds gave you his special sleeping blend that he made himself to calm you down so he could get you to one of his doctor friends." Her eyes strayed to the Winnebago. So that's what Murdoc had done; she didn't know whether to be grateful or sorry for yelling at him the way she did. 

Why did Murdoc act like saving her and losing his bedmate for the night pissed him off so much? He'd... she wasn't sure care was the right word for it, but he wanted to help enough to take her to some back-alley doctor to fix her up, even driving four hours to hide her while the police searched the studio top to bottom to find her father! His words were sharp but his actions said so much more. 

Even so, there was still the horrible things he'd done to her and 2-D. She couldn't count that out, right? But he hadn't harmed her since. Russel began to set up another tent, but a raccoon sniffed too close. Russel stared it down as his cap rose from his head, a light-blue spirit chasing it down to scare it away. Nobody noticed as it returned and Russel went on like nothing happened. 

Noodle had fallen asleep; she must've been extremely tired and worried. The final tent was set up with little to no trouble, unlike the first two and Russel stood back, admiring his work. He felt like a master at setting up tents now; he'd even dropped in blankets and pillows in. 

"Yo, tents are done." With that, he walked into his tent, zipping it up. There was no more noise from Russel that night. 2-D stood up, picking up Noodle, and put her in the middle tent before coming back to Rose. She tried to stand up but 2-D swept her off her feet. 

"2-D, what are you doing?"

"Mum told me to always help injured people." 

He knelt, sliding Rose out of his arms and into the tent before climbing in with her. He zipped the tent shut behind him, the headlights making a dim light appear in the tent, just enough to see but not enough to disturb them. 2-D pulled the covers over Rose and got into bed with her.

 

Rose wouldn't be sleeping tonight.


	21. Phase One Chapter Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbdflriheIM  
> i will say no more

It began with a gentle touch; 2-D's fingers traced along her thigh, his hand eventually coming to rest on it, rubbing slowly. Rose didn't know what to do, so she simply pretended to remain asleep. As he rubbed his way to her stomach, slipping his hand up her hospital dress, she shivered from how cold his hand was.

She felt the pressing weight lift off of her chest as he pushed up her bra, his finger tracing around one of her nipples before giving it a quick squeeze. Her back arched and she was unsure how long she'd be able to keep up the facade that she was sleeping; she also wondered when 2-D would stop, not that she wasn't enjoying his touch. She felt something warm press to her neck and 2-D's bottom teeth sunk into her neck; her legs came together as she tried to suppress her lust. She felt herself began to get wet.

2-D seemingly was interested in covering all the bases as his other hand sunk into her panties. His finger was cold against her clit as he rubbed against it; Murdoc usually just initiated it, never quite did any foreplay. She felt as if she was on fire as his finger dipped into her cunt. It slowly reached to the base as he slid it in, slowly removing it, almost painfully slow. She tried to hold her breath as he slipped in another finger, wiggling them as his tongue slid across the fresh, yet light, bite marks. 

Rose felt the weight of his mouth disappear as his lips moved to her earlobe, gently nipping at it. His tongue ran along the outer edge of her ear as he thrust his fingers into her. As his tongue stopped running along her ear she heard him exhale. "I was worried. Real bad. If somethin' happened to you, I dunno.. I dunno what I would've done to that dad of yours." She felt something soft caress her cheek and she assumed it was his hand as he'd stopped groping her breasts. "I just can't 'elp myself." 

Rose felt him flip over, getting on top of her. In that moment, her eyes opened, and his lips pressed against hers. His eyes were closed and the man was trembling; the expression on his face was so troubling. Honestly, Rose didn't think he was on anything at the moment; he might not've had the time, what with the cops bursting in and it'd probably been hours since they left Kong. His tongue slipped into her mouth, wrestling with her own. 

As he pulled away, he opened his eyes and froze, staring into Rose's. That was the moment she should have stopped him; but instead, she simply nodded. 2-D's face began to flush red as his fingers began to work inside her faster. She'd let out little gasps as he sped up, her cunt beginning to make wet sounds just from the amount of wetness he'd built up. He slowed down, removing his fingers. "You're really cute, Rose." He whispered, stepping over her and kneeling between her legs. Her face was red; something about this made her feel embarrassed despite having done it so many times. 

As 2-D spread Rose's legs and removed her panties, throwing them to the side, he did something she didn't expect; lowered his head. Panicked, she tried to sit up, but he glanced at her from between her legs and run his tongue along the lips of her cunt. With his thumbs, he'd spread it apart, licking it again. Rose let out something between a cry and a moan, her body trembling. 

The tip of his tongue would slide into her pussy as he flicked at the inner wall quickly; Rose's fingernails dug into the blanket on the ground as she bit her lip to hold back a moan. His lips closed around her clit, somewhat kissing it. He opened his mouth again, sliding his full tongue into her cunt as he wiggled it around. "2-D..." She tried to put her feelings into words, but his name came out more of a breathy side.

His tongue slid out of her cunt as he rose his head. "I can't wait no more, Rose." His belt was unbuckled and slid smoothly out of his pants as he shoved them to his knees, bringing the head of his cock to Rose's cunt. He gently rubbed the tip against the lips of her pussy, slightly fidgety.

"2-D, please!" Rose begged, unable to take it any longer. She was so lost in her lust that her inhibitions were out the window. 2-D began to push inside her, the head of his cock disappearing into her. She moaned as he slowly slid it in, all the way to the base. His hands slid to her hips, resting between them and her spread legs, as he pulled out and slammed himself back inside, letting out a pale moan.  
He began to fuck Rose, starting out slowly, his hips bucking against hers. Rose's breasts bounced as she felt his cock inside her, rubbing against the walls of her cunt. It made her feel extremely good, like she was floating, almost. 

He gradually sped up, the sound of their hips slapping against one another filling the tent. Rose moaned with every thrust and 2-D seemed to be nearing climax, her good arm wrapped around his body. He kissed her, their tongues once more clashing with one another. "Rose..." He moaned, his words but a breath. "Fuck, Rose, I'm there... I'm there..."

He slammed his hips against hers, full speed as he gave her one last kiss, panting heavily. With a final thrust, his cock twitched and his cum spilled into her. Rose let out a final moan; she was completely full of 2-D's seed. He thrust once more, releasing just a bit more inside her before pulling out, his cum spilling from her cunt as he did.

With that, he flopped to the side, exhausted, as he pulled her close and held her tight. Like that, they fell asleep together, Rose feeling safe and 2-D feeling loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> was it good  
> i don't know if it was bad  
> or blegh  
> tell me  
> please


	22. Phase One, Chapter Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMfeXAwbmPs  
> This song is very important to the chapter!

When Rose woke up, a set of her clothes was lying neatly on her bed. She'd quickly get dressed in them and exit the tent, the bright light making her eyes a little sore. However, as they adjusted, she saw 2-D sitting at the campfire, wearing an old, ratty sweater. Noodle was strumming a song on her guitar. It made Rose feel happy; she wondered if it was something Noodle had made herself or was from a song Noodle liked.

Russel was nowhere to be found and the car seemingly wasn't there either. Rose trekked over the field and Noodle's guitar playing began to pick up; honestly, Rose wasn't into music, but that playing made her curious. She ventured closer to Noodle, 2-D looking up with a blank stare on his face, seemingly still tired from their wild night beforehand. 

She crouched to the ground, looking up at Noodle with her arms resting on her knees, her cast heavy on her leg. Noodle stopped playing momentarily, staring down at Rose, tilting her head as if to say 'need something?'

"Keep playing, it's lovely." 

Noodle nodded and continued, her fingers gently strumming the guitar, the placement making all the difference in the change of notes; this was how music was made, by someone pressing their fingers against the strings of a wooden instrument. For some reason, this realization brought Rose nothing but childlike wonder. A melody as beautiful as this was created by the hands of artists.

Noodle's smile slowly crept up on her face as Rose watched her play the guitar. When she stopped again, Rose frowned, but Noodle tugged on her shirt. She sat down beside Noodle and the small child crawled into her lap, supporting the guitar. She took Rose's good hand, using her other to press down the strings and began to strum with it. 

"You..." Noodle paused, looking for the words to say. "Make too." Rose couldn't quite understand, but maybe the missing word was music. Yes, she was making beautiful music too. They were making it together. Rose never thought something like music could come out of hands like hers, let alone a good meal. So, as Noodle showed her where to strum, it felt like butterflies were fluttering in her heart. For once, she felt free, like her problems didn't matter. Noodle was guiding her, but she was still in disbelief at the fact that she was doing anything. Her heart beat in time with the beat of the song. 

The rhythm guided her hand along with Noodle. As the song, slowly but surely, came to a stop, Rose felt the bubbly feeling fade away; she was back to her normal self, here, a criminal, on the run from her psychopathic father with the band she's been living with for a year now. The music had broken the restraints on her heart, but there they were, tightly back in place again. And along with restraints came the pain. 

"Wow, Rose, maybe we should have you as the new guitarist," But when Noodle glared at 2-D, he quickly added, "Just kidding. Honest! Nobody but you, Noodle." She seemed satisfied with that as Rose withdrew her hand with the guitar and settled into her lap with the intent to strum again; as she begun, Russel pulled up in the car. He stopped, opening the door and got out with a tray of coffee and a bag of muffins.

"Breakfast's ready." Noodle hopped off of Rose's lap, gently setting her guitar down beside Rose. She dashed towards Russel, reaching up for the muffins, but he held them above her head. "Yo, I think Muds at least deserves us waitin' on him. May not be a popular idea, but he got our backs. We're all we got and we're family, even if we ain't nice to one another." Noodle pouted, but with what Murdoc had done for Rose the night before, even she complied to this request. However, that didn't mean she would be patient about it.

She dashed back to Murdoc's Winnebago and smashed her fists against the door repeatedly. "Open! Open! Breakfast! Hungry! Open!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, her little fists unleashing fury and rage Rose had only seen in movies. Murdoc swung the door open and Noodle jumped back, raising her fists as if she was ready for a fight. He was only in his underwear but he skulked out of the trailer looking like he'd gotten a sleepless night. He sat his ass down on the log Russel was on, holding out his hand while his other held his face. Russel plopped a muffin into his hand and placed the coffee, gently to make sure it wouldn't spill, on the log beside Murdoc.

Russel passed a muffin over to 2-D and gave him a tea; it seemed like 2-D liked tea more than coffee, anyways. Noodle impatiently wiggled her butt on the log. Russel handed Rose a muffin; it was surprisingly large. It was a chocolate chip muffin with a little icing smiley face. Cute. He handed her a coffee; a triple-triple. She took a sip and the now-sweet liquid slid down her throat nicely, waking her up. 

Noodle finally got her muffin and was chomping into it like no tomorrow; by the time Rose took a bite of hers, Noodle was halfway through her own. Rose glanced at Murdoc, who simply glared back at her, clearly tired. Her eyes moved over to 2-D, who gave her a small, charming smile. A smile that told of the things they did last night and her heart fluttered. She stood up, catching the attention of everyone and walked over to sit next to 2-D. 

Murdoc's glare was even more intense now, making Rose sweat. She felt like she had a target on her back while 2-D was shaking so hard he was vibrating. Murdoc must've been really upset, because he stood up and stomped back into his trailer, slamming the door shut with a bang. 

Rose kind of wanted to kiss 2-D, who was hiding his smile behind his muffin. She wanted to hug him, too, but she felt like that would cross some sort of boundary and she didn't want to make him uncomfortable in front of their friends. Her index finger rubbed against the wrapping of the muffin in her lap as she nervously stole a glance at 2-D, who was watching her. 

In a flash, his lips grazed her cheek and he went back to hiding behind his muffin. Russel ignored it, Noodle abhorred it, squishing her muffin in her hands. 

Murdoc smashed his fist against the glass of his Winnebago's window, causing cracks to spread like the web of a spider. In the middle of those cracks, Rose sat, distorted by the breaks. Blood dripped from Murdoc's hand as he ripped a piece of glass from his fist, his mood only getting progressively worse as the day went on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ALMOST FORGOT!  
> ENTER THE OC CONTEST TO HAVE YOUR OC FEATURED IN BREAK ME!  
> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScp49AW4cgiW_Ju42XGYTQ_wEFuAfSfWGuL9LEMJKBP0kODeA/viewform?usp=sf_link


	23. Phase One, Chapter Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTwdGRHl5Mw  
> Aurora Asknes, Murder Song {5, 4, 3, 2, 1.}

Murdoc grunted as he threw another piece of paper into the garbage bin behind him. He'd been trying to write lyrics, but it was all coming out wrong. They were stupid; sounded nothing like his shit up until now. 'Maybe in time, you'll want to be mine?' What was this, some fucking cliche romance song about one-sided love? He ground one of his discarded lyrics into the ground with the heel of his boot. 

2-D came into the Winnebago, opening the fridge to get a beer while placing his phone on the table in front of Murdoc. As Murdoc stared at it, an idea formed in his mind. He didn't like the fact that 2-D and Rose were doing a little more than just hooking up. It irked him. Maybe it was the fact that Rose gave more to 2-D than she did to him. His nails tip-tapped against the damaged wood of the table as he stared off into the distance. He just had to wait as 2-D got four beers out of the fridge. As he walked out, forgetting his phone, Murdoc reached across the table.

He clicked a button and the screen lit up. With a few more beeps, he found the contacts and scrolled down. The list wasn't long, not at all. Mum, dad, Murdoc, Russel, Doctor, Rose, Russel and... what was this? Charla? He'd never heard of a Charla before. Without much ado, he clicked the dial button. After a few rings, he was about to give up, when a girl picked up.

"Stuart...? Is that you? I haven't heard from you in... gosh, a long while. What's wrong?" She sounded concerned. Murdoc was silent for a moment, wondering what to possibly say. "Hello? Stuart? I can hear you breathing, you know..."

 

"This isn't Stuart. It's his friend, Murdoc. 2- I mean, Stuart, misses you, Charla. He's been afraid to call you. Scared of being shot down or something." Murdoc was just pulling shit out of his ass now. He expected her to believe it; hell, even he believed it from the stupid sod. A moment's breath between them and he could tell that she had her sold.

"He... misses me? Really?" 

"Yeah. Talks about you a lot." 

A little lie, Murdoc honestly hadn't heard of her before finding her name in 2-D's contacts. He honestly didn't care as long as she did some stupid slutty thing to get 2-D off Rose for a while, while Murdoc took her back. He felt like he wasn't being repaid enough for his efforts. He was the one who'd saved her, not 2-D and yet she was crawling into his covers and playing the role of his whore. It made him sick, really, to think that's where his generosity got him with Rose; further down some stupid path with 2-D. He didn't really want to be in a relationship with her.

Murdoc just wanted Rose out of 2-D's arms. He couldn't have her. Murdoc wouldn't let that happen. 

"Look, I don't have all night, so if you want to see him again come to Kong Studios. If you care enough, you'll find out the address on your own." With that, as 2-D walked back into the Winnebago, he slid the phone across the table. It came to a stop just before 2-D turned to face Murdoc, who was bluffing a hell of an amount, trying his best not to grin or smile. 

"Forgot my phone." He snatched it up before tromping out of the trailer. Murdoc had made his move; one 2-D wouldn't be able to defend against, he was sure. Rose would be his, but he'd belong to nobody and it felt great. Rose would be underneath him, in his bed, crawling to him for comfort instead of 2-D, the way it should've been in the first place.

His nails began tippity-tapping against the wood table again as he smiled out of the window, staring straight at Rose.

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt like eyes were trained on her; she looked around, but she couldn't really see anyone at the campfire staring at her. Maybe they were coming from the forest? Had her father found them? No, impossible. Not this fast. Only they knew their current location. Unless... no, none of them would do that. None of them would've let her father know where she was. She had to trust them; she couldn't turn against the only people who were protecting her.

2-D, seeing the stress written all over her face, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. 

Murdoc burst out of his Winnebago, shirtless, with a bottle of straight vodka in hand. He walked over to Rose and 2-D, resting either arm on each shoulder of the new couple. He lowered his voice. "Really miss you warming my bed, Rose. Wanna hop in tonight?" With that, he chuckled, tilting his head back and taking a swig of vodka. Rose's entire posture froze up, her eyes darting to 2-D to see his reaction. There was an empty look on his face, but she saw it contort to anger as he got up from the fireplace and stalked into the dark. 

"What the fuck, Murdoc?" Rose hissed, standing up. As she brushed past him, trying to follow 2-D, Murdoc grabbed her arm. His fingernails dug into her skin, leaving red, angry marks behind.

"You don't need to follow him, love. If you come in my love shack, I'll guarantee I'll make you forget him by morning."

She wrenched her arm from his hand, disgusted by his vile behavior. "You disgust me, Murdoc. Just when I think you could be decent." The look that crossed Murdoc's face confused her. He looked absolutely lost, almost at a loss for words. 

She ignored the urge to turn back by turning away from him, dashing into the woods, his expression haunting her mind. 

Rose had to find 2-D. That was what was important right now.

Yet still, Murdoc crept into her mind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This OC, Charla, belongs to Mckenner! She's the author of Blue {A 2D Love Story} Of which Charla is her OC!  
> https://www.wattpad.com/400194471-blue-a-2d-love-story-chapter-1  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/10944729  
> here's the links to her stuff!


	24. Phase One, Chapter Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW WILL YOU KNOW WHICH IS AN OC AND WHICH ISN'T?! PROBABLY NOT BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU. Well. Actually, because I will. You can tell which is an OC because I will literally tell you. SORRY I GOT DISTRACTED AND REREAD BREAK ME TO CHAPTER 5 AND IM LIKE WOAH, WE CAME THIS FAR ALREADY!? 
> 
> HERE'S THE DISCORD IF YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION ABOUT BREAK ME!!! YOU'LL GET HEADS UP ON ALL EVENTS AND CONTESTS AND UPDATES FASTER THAN THEY'RE POSTED! https://discord.gg/34sdDCV
> 
> Once we reach 100 KUDOS, we'll be doing some sort of celebration event on Discord!  
> Song for this chapter is I'm Like A Bird, by Nelly Furtado!  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roPQ_M3yJTA

As Rose walked into the darkness, she couldn't see anything in front of her. Fear permeated her mind, sinking deep beneath her skin; she was fearing not the darkness, but what was in it. Anything could be. From wild animals to 2-D and her father. She hoped to god that wasn't the case; after all, how could he have found her? 

Rose let out a yelp as she crashed to the ground, groaning in pain as her broken arm broke her fall and separated the ground from her face. Rose strained to get back up off the ground, her legs wobbly as her eyes adjusted to the woods. In the distance, she saw a silhouette which she cautiously approached.

2-D's head rested against a tree. Rose approached from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder. Spinning around, 2-D grabbed her wrist and glared at her. 

Neither of them really expected what happened next.

2-D's other hand tore through the air and a smacking sound resounded around the forest, bouncing off the trees until it faded. Rose, who was surprised at the sudden stinging pain, turned her head back to look at 2-D, her eyes wide. "You were supposed to be mine," 2-D said quietly, "But you, like the slag that you are, got into his bed. Again." His voice was growing louder.

"2-D, you don't understa-"

He pushed her over, causing her to fall on her back with enough force to wind her. With her arm and rib the way they were, she definitely wouldn't be able to defend herself. "If you want to be treated like a fuckin' slag, all you had to do was ask! I thought you were different!" He ripped open her shirt like it was paper and Rose tried to fend him off but her good arm was pinned down by one of 2-D's. "I thought you were different, Rose. But you're just like Paula!"

He tore off her pants and began to unbuckle his own belt. "I'm nothing like Paula, 2-D. Please," She begged. "Don't do this." 

"You enjoyed it last night!" He snapped, pulling them down and thrusting into her, skipping the foreplay. He grunted, quick bucks of his hip that only sped up as he went along. Rose began to cry and 2-D slowed down, pulling out. It seemed whatever vigor he had was gone, but he couldn't take back his actions now. He pulled up his pants and rested his head on her shoulder, sobbing, taking the same position he had while doing those terrible things to her. "I just wanted one thing, Rose. You. That's all. I'm sick of being hit by Muds, I'm sick of him taking everything that makes me happy." Rose reached her arms out to comfort him but reeled back in pain as 2-D drove his fist into her stomach, letting out a cry of pain. 

She stared into 2-D's eyes, horrified, as he brought his hand back and his fist smashed into her face. The pain was overwhelming and she felt dizzy. 

"Why!"

He screamed, tears dripping down his cheeks as he once more punched her across the face. 2-D had finally snapped.

"He takes everything! He took Paula! He took you!"

With a couple more hits, Rose felt like she was going to black out. She didn't want to feel any more pain. She sobbed, breathing heavily, trying to steady out the pain. "If he... if he has me, then why am I here with you?"

"Cuz you feel guilt." He grabbed her by her shirt, his fingernails digging into the fabric of the ripped, tattered thing.

"No, 2-D," Rose shoulders shook as she stared up at him, tears in her eyes and sobs wracking her body, a thin trail of blood dripping from her nose. "I'm here because I want to be with you. I didn't follow him into his Winnebago." 2-D dropped his fist, pulling Rose up as he stood. His arms wrapped around her and he began to cry, but Rose wrestled out of them. He looked at her, eyes wide, as she stepped back. "But after what you just did to me? I don't... I don't want you to touch me." 2-D took a step towards her and in fear, she staggered back. "Please just stay away from me."

"Rose-"

Clapping came from the bushes, slow and menacing. Rose's head slowly turned, horrified, to the source. "Didn't daddy ever tell you not to give yourself to boys, Rose? You broke a rule. You know what that means." Rose let out a horrified scream as her father stepped out of the bushes.

"How... how the hell did you find us?!"

"Bugged a couple phones at the party with trackers. Military tech. They won't miss it." Of course he would. Rose's foot turned a little back to the direction of the Winnebago. 2-D caught her gaze and she nodded as they began their wild dash back. "Shouldn't leave your phones laying around the party."

A shot rang through the woods and Rose jumped as a bullet embedded itself into the tree beside her, just inches away from her face. She hopped over a log, running as fast as her legs could take her. Another shot fired and 2-D grabbed his arm ahead of her. She glanced him over, still upset with what he did to her, a little freaked out because her dad had watched and a lot worried that he'd been hit. However, the adrenaline caused him to drop his arm and book it, showing he'd only been grazed. 

As they burst out into the field, it was clear they'd make easier targets. Another shot fired off and Rose screamed as she dropped to the ground, rolling across it. Her leg felt like it was on fire and she tried to get up again but dropped to the ground. "Got you!" Her father said, cheerfully. 2-D turned back to her but saw her father approaching...

and he ran. 

She reached for him, dumbfounded that he'd just abandoned her like that. Especially after what he did. She'd die without him. Rose turned her head towards her father, who was pointing the gun at her, coming up fast with a baseball bat in his hand. She turned onto her back and tried to push and wiggle away from him. 

All of a sudden, Nick pointed the gun upwards and pulled the trigger. Her head tilted back and she saw Murdoc striding across the field. He had a terrifying look on his face as he dashed towards Rose, picked her up and began carrying her towards the Winnebago. Her father was struggling to unjam his gun while Murdoc locked the door. Blood stained his hands and 2-D was kneeling against the fridge. 

He got up when he saw Rose, reaching for her, But Murdoc shoved him back down. "You fucking moron, you left her there." He placed her on the table, reaching up into a cabinet and ripping out a first aid kit. He gestured to Noodle, who was sitting on the bed with Russel and gave her a cloth. "Press this to the wound to stop the bleeding and no matter what, don't stop."

Noodle nodded, slamming her hands into Rose's leg with the cloth so hard she screamed. Noodle hoped that Rose would forgive her, but it was preserving Rose's life before Rose's comfort. 

Murdoc got into the driver's seat and hit the gas pedal. Seeing 2-D get up to walk to Rose, he turned the steering wheel hard, causing the blue-haired bastard to tumble into the bathroom while Russel tried to keep steady. 

Noodle began to scream something at Murdoc as she tried to keep Rose on the table, while Russel quickly shot down the hall to prevent Rose from falling off. "Press harder, yo! Been shot before, we need to get her to a doctor! Muds, stop driving like a fuckin' psycho!"

"If you haven't noticed, I was trying to hit her dad!" He screamed back, grinning as the bathroom door closed and locked. 2-D wouldn't be able to get out of there for a while yet until Murdoc wasn't driving. The bastard. 

As they drove out of the field, her father's eyes darted to the car whose headlights were on the tents. He began to walk towards it, a grin plastered on his face. If he'd managed to get her once, he'd have to reaim and it would be as simple as shooting her again.


	25. Phase One, Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/VH-R5r3Rhmo  
> The song for this chapter is EVANESCENCE  
> what you want {Elder Jepson Remix}  
> I THINK THAT'S TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY, I'M TRYING FOR SIX!!!

People.

They're what make us.

They're what break us.

As Murdoc's Winnebago swerved down the highway, Rose's bullet wound seeping blood, 2-D locked in the bathroom stuck in the toilet and Noodle trying her best to keep her hands steady as Russel made sure she didn't fall off the table, Rose's father, Nick Badling, slammed his foot down on the pedal. With a burst of speed, he was beside the Winnebago, venturing closer.

Murdoc snarled as the car edged the Winnebago closer to the edge of the highway, glaring at Nick. "If that bloody car even scratches up my Winnebago, you will have a slow and painful death!" He swore, flipping Nick the bird. Nick was already on thin ice, having threatened the lives of his bandmates and trying to kill the maid. 

He grabbed his cell out of the cupholder, trying to keep his eyes on the road as he pulled up his contact list. The vehicle swerved and Rose would've fallen off the table if not for Russel. "Didn't I tell ya not to drive like a fuckin' psycho, man?" He snapped, heaving her back onto the table.

"Everybody shut up, I'm making a call!" Murdoc snapped, as he hit the green 'call' button. Rose was in too much pain to speak but she groaned, causing Murdoc to turn back to them and 'Sssssh' with enough intensity to make Russel glare back. The car swerved again.

"Watch the fuckin' road, dude!" He shouted. Murdoc looked at him for a few seconds more simply to piss him off before turning back to the road, cell phone to his ear, ringing.

"Come on, Genji, you fucking loon, pick up."

Somewhere, thirty minutes away, a man was taking a bath. The entire bathroom was filled with rubber ducks. They covered the floor, all of them in strange and weird patterns, some floating in the soapy water. The man was waving his hands, conducting an invisible melody as he sunk further into the bath. Strands of his hair reached out, swerving slightly with the ripples of the water like the tentacles of an octopus. 

"Harold, turn the volume down." He shouted, waiting patiently as the volume was brought to zero. He stepped out of the bath and stretched. He was wearing a sundress with bright pink stripes. 

Hearing the rings, he stepped over the strange, almost ritualistic patterns of ducks. As he stepped into the living room, it was clear there were ducks... everywhere. He picked up his phone, hit the 'accept call' button and put the phone to his ear, holding it between his neck and his ear as he turned to the mirror and admired himself in the sundress. "Doctor Genji Stein speaking. Hi, Murdoc. Thought you promised never to come back after we were done with each other's little... business?"

Murdoc honked the horn and swerved around a car. "Yeah, well, there's a little emergency, love." Nick pointed the gun at Murdoc, who ducked as the gun fired. The Winnebago's windows shattered as it shot straight through. "That's it, you bloody fucking wanker! I said, not my fucking Winnebago! What do you do? You fuck up my fucking Winnebago!"  
Genji temporarily held the phone further away from his ear as Murdoc screamed, causing the connection to crackle. When he felt like Murdoc was done, he put it back, checking his nails. "That sounded like a gunshot. You bringing company? I'll put the kettle on." 

Another barrage of swears came from the other side. "Russel, you fucking git! She fell over!" There were muffled voices in the background and the sound of a crash. "Genji, please have your tools ready by the time we get there, it's an emergency! Fuckin' hell. I have to go!" The line went dead. Genji shrugged, tossing the phone onto the couch beside one of the ducks. He then slid out of his sundress and walked into his closet, walking out a minute later and striking a pose in front of the mirror.

He now donned a lab coat with white dress pants and a black turtleneck. He pushed his glasses further up his nose, grinned and shoved one of his hands in the pocket. Genji walked to one of the many rooms in his basement apartment and opened the door, flicking on the light. "Can't forget the kettle. Would be rude, right, Harold?" There was no response, but Genji nodded.

As he walked to the middle of the room, he chose a panel and stepped forwards. Reaching up, he took his prize; a pump-action shotgun. Genji quickly reloaded it with a single pump. There were at least forty weapons hung on the walls and on the tables as he walked out of the room, making sure to flick the lights off to save power.

Genji tucked the shotgun under his arm as he quickly lit a cigarette and trotted up the stairs, taking it between his lips as he quickly opened all thirteen locks. Striding down the alley, he firmly planted his feet on the ground in the middle of the road. Gangbangers cleared the road seeing the man in the white coat; they knew what that meant. 

Murdoc's Winnebago came screeching down the road, stopping a little past Genji. Nick turned, hard, the tires squealing as he did. He widened his eyes when Genji aimed the shotgun at him, ducking. 

Genji pulled the trigger, causing the car to swerve off the road and into the telephone pole as the Winnebago unloaded, including a newly-freed and dazed 2-D. Murdoc helped by carrying Rose's legs, Russel had her head and Noodle her midsection while 2-D shambled behind them. 

"Let's get in before he recovers." Genji said, his voice authoritative. He led the group down the alley and into his apartment, making sure to relock all eighteen locks. "Follow me." He quickly descended the stairs, his lab coat billowing after him. Russel was a little put-off by all the ducks, but it seemed like they wouldn't be staying in that area long as they descended the next set of stairs into a hallway. It was long and there were multiple doors, including a couple of stretchers. He gestured to one and they very gently put Rose on it. "I don't need to know anything, Murdoc knows my job means I don't ask questions. Bullet wound is clearly on the upper thigh. Wait upstairs, I'll be done in ten to thirty minutes." He took the stretcher down the hall and disappeared, with Rose, into the room at the end of the hall.

Everyone was on edge as they sat in the living room, which was full of ducks. "I think they're staring at me," 2-D whispered.

PLAY THIS OUTRO RIGHT NOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxg4C365LbQ

"Shut the fuck up, 2-D." Murdoc growled, standing up and laying a full-force punch across his face. 2-D dropped to the floor, scrambling backward. "Look here, you fucking coward. You just endangered her, you got my Winnebago fucked up. On top of that, you were completely useless the entire time-"

"I was locked in the-"

"Don't you dare ever fucking interrupt me, you little fucking shit!" Murdoc snapped, reeling his hand back. 2-D flinched. "Is it understandable why I'm pissed? Can you not see why all of us are pissed at you? If I didn't hear the fucking gunshot, see you blaze into the Winnebago without Rose, I wouldn't have known she was there." 2-D glanced around the room, receiving nothing but glares and looks of disapproval. He fell silent, wrapping his arms around his legs.

Fifteen minutes passed.

An hour and twenty minutes.

Finally, two. Murdoc was literally burning a hole in the rug pacing as the telltale sign of Genji's footsteps came up the stairs. Everyone turned to them as the bloodied lab coat swept up the stairs. He stopped, glancing around the room, confused as to why everyone was aggressively watching him. "Sorry to be slow, I was watching Twilight Zone while operating."

"Is that safe?" Russel questioned, frowning.

"No, not in the slightest. Anyways, there's good and bad news. Let's go with the first. I successfully got the bullet out and sealed up the hole, there'll be a little scarring."

"What's the bad news?" Murdoc wasn't liking this.

"Rose was pregnant."

 

Yes, the people you meet can absolutely destroy you in so many ways and you'd have no idea how; for Rose, this was but barely the beginning. For others who'd be involved with the Gorillaz throughout the years of Phase One, they would also be subjected to darkness... but they may also be the light.

~

A girl stood in a phone booth, her cries muffled. She hung up the phone, clutching her heart. An address was hastily scribbled on a piece of paper in her hand and the street was clearly a shady one. Her blonde hair was tied up tightly in a ponytail, which she quickly pulled to tighten again, rubbing away her tears. 

~

Charla waved over a taxi, which came to a stop before her. She paused, took a deep breath, twirling a lock of her hair between her fingers. Then she smiled. 2-D wanted to see her. Honestly, she had no idea just how much she'd missed him until that rude friend of his had called. She prepared herself, mentally, before getting into the taxi. 

"Can you take me to Kong Studios?"

~

A girl dejectedly opened the top button of her blouse, sighing and laying down on a bench outside of a bar, her arm over her eyes to shield them from the streetlight's blaze. "Rejected again." She murmured. Her eyes strayed to the 'Now Hiring' sign as she ripped it off the window and threw it into the street, where a car ran it over.

~

Tumbling down her shoulders, she ran a finger through her jet-black hair as she stood in front of a mirror. A smirk played on her lips as she held a Bible in her other hand, slightly fixing her makeup. Her heels clicked as she walked back into the churches' Sunday party. It wouldn't be long before she'd be headed back home; it was a long night, but for God, she'd celebrate as long as she had to.

~

Jason took a drag of his blunt as he stared up at the Kong building. Looked like a good place to squat for the week; didn't even look inhabited and on top of that it was creepy, which meant cops wouldn't roll on by especially since it was so out of the way. 

~

In Kong, a woman scrambled out of the third-floor closet, tripping down the stairs and dashing into Rose's room. She put her face to the bed and took a long whiff of the covers, her eyes almost rolling into her head as her panties got progressively more soaked. She'd been watching Rose. From a distance. Never really got a chance to pop out of the closet and talk to her. She wished Murdoc's Winnebago was still in the parking lot so she could dash on down and sink in his scent; unfortunately, he'd taken it somewhere. "Come back," She whined, missing the both of them before laughing and dashing into Rose's closet, rubbing all the clothes against her face.

~

Peggy tapped her foot against the bar's stool in a sort of rhythm as she drummed her fingers against the counter. A girl, walking by, staggered forwards, the drink dousing Peggy. Her hands curled up into balls as she turned around, grabbing that bitch by the shirt and driving her fist into the woman's face.

Yes, there were more to come... so many brilliant minds. All of them would soon connect their own fates to the Gorillaz and Rose... but for now, they were walking separate paths, soon to converge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE OC CONTEST IS STILL GOING ON! IF YOU DON'T SEE YOUR OC HERE, RELAX! I'M GOING TO DO AS MANY OF THEM AS I CAN. I MEAN IT'S STILL A CONTEST AND ALL THE PEOPLE YOU'VE SEEN DID WIN, {girl crying in telephone booth gets #1} but I'm still putting forth the OC contest! I WILL DO AS MANY AS THIRTY.  
> THIS WILL EXTEND PHASE ONE A HELL OF A LOT  
> OKAY  
> I'M SORRY  
> I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE  
> IF ANYBODY DOESN'T WANT THAT SPEAK UP  
> OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE AND OPINIONS ABOUT EWWW PHASE ONE IS TAKING FOREVER
> 
> But hey I edited the chapter to make more sense. I don't know HOW people are getting confused at OCs because they're literally not all together like this for the rest of the book. I separated them for you tho.


	26. Phase One, Chapter Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuNTFGnVm4k  
> The song for this chapter is Fall Out Boy's Alone Together!

"Bitch," Murdoc muttered in 2-D's direction as he reached for a slice of pizza they'd ordered. Unfortunately, from the scream that they'd heard, it seemed like the pizza guy didn't make it out of the alley. Before Murdoc could take a glance out there, Genji slammed the door shut in his face and slid the locks over, put down the door bolt and put three locker locks around the bolt lock's chains. Murdoc wasn't quite sure why Genji was so paranoid beyond knowing that he was doing illegal work as a doctor; helping the gang members in the neighborhood. As a result, they protected him from rival gangs, gave him a place to stay. Sometimes, he got rich people looking for a quick fix on the down low, too, so he wasn't doing too bad with his money situation.

Genji had been a little more solemn than usual when announcing Rose's pregnancy. "I removed the child from her already. It was small, so she must've been impregnated recently. Anywhere in the course of four weeks is probable. Seeing the amount of pain that she must've been in, it's likely she couldn't distinguish the pain of a miscarriage."

"What do you mean, removed?! Like an abortion?!" 2-D was standing up now, worry crossing his face. Murdoc almost laughed, but inside himself, he felt like a new hole appeared. The stupid blue-haired git just didn't get it, did he? 

"It was already dead. I assume some sort of blunt force ended its life. There's the shock of getting shot, but honestly, she looks like she'd been assaulted by somebody, there's a bruise forming on her lower stomach."

Murdoc's head snapped to 2-D. The git wouldn't have had the balls to do something like that, right? No, it had to be her father. But if it had been 2-D, he'd give him a beating worthy of crying about. Twice as bad as Rose had it. 

2-D glanced around the room. He should tell the truth. But the way everyone was looking at him, maybe it would just make things worse. "I... It was her dad. He came up so fast." He bit down on his lie; it didn't feel good to lie about this kind of thing, but it was better than an angry, sober Murdoc. Sober-for-two-days-in-a-row Murdoc. Possibly-the-father-Murdoc.

What was he kidding? Murdoc wouldn't give a shit about some unborn, dead kid. He was just a piss-angry drunk who liked making 2-D feel pain. But dread stirred in 2-D's heart when he realized that perhaps it wasn't Murdoc's child. Maybe it was... 

"We don't have to tell her." Russel said, quietly. This made everyone quite silent; weighed down with the weight of morals and choices. 

No, 2-d wouldn't think about that. It wasn't his. So, he nodded, fastly, his choices having been determined from the first word. For all he knew it was just some random other guy's in Rose's life. She was a slag, after all, right? His guilt was piling up. 

It seemed like the entire room had come to the decision, including Noodle. She looked absolutely heartbroken, but she glanced at Russel and nodded, what's best for Rose stuck in her heart. 

Heads turned as the pitter-patter of bare feet coming up the stairs echoed around the room. Noodle hopped off the couch as Rose came upstairs, her face looking bruised and swollen and damaged but alive. Noodle dashed into Rose, wrapping her arms around the poor girl with tightness. "Whoa, whoa, Noodle... is it normal to feel like my stomach's been pushed through a meat grinder?" She glanced at the doctor, presumably already having met him. 

Genji strolled up to Rose, patting her on the head silently. It earned him a confused look, but everyone had to shake off the solemn feeling of a lie to pile around Rose. In the end, it seemed to become a group hug, Russel and Noodle mostly, with Murdoc standing a little offwards. Rose tried to struggle away when 2-D attempted to join. "Don't touch me," She snapped.

2-D stepped away, rubbing his arm, now as far away as Murdoc was from the hugging. "I wouldn't want you to touch me either if you put me through what she was forced to go through." 2-D felt his blood turn to ice as he thought Murdoc had known what he'd done to her. But then, he realized that he was just talking about how he'd saved his own hide rather than trying to help Rose. 

Genji simply wormed his way into the middle of the hug, pushing Rose out of the center, which made everybody including those not in the circle feel a little awkward. "Yes," He whispered. "Mommy loves me." This made everyone step away, a little creeped out by him. "Well, guess it's time you got going now. I have a date at five. Harold should be here any minute." 

He walked to the side to pick up the same pump-shotgun and gently kissed it before running up the stairs. The sound of unlocking locks was heard as the Gorillaz, who Rose now counted herself a part of, walked up the stairs. Her fucked-up family away from her fucked-up family. 

They watched as Genji spun into the alley, his lab coat billowing behind him, pump-reloading the shotgun, steadying himself and letting out a few warning shots to let Nick know, if he was still out there, that he would die if he came near Genji. Not even a military man could survive a shotgun to the face. 

Genji waved them forwards before stopping them, entering the Winnebago to check for Nick. When he couldn't find them, he nodded them in. As Murdoc turned the Winnebago's key, 2-D and Russel sat on one end of its table while Noodle sat in Rose's lap on the other side. Rose's stomach grumbled as they pulled forwards, waving to Genji. 

"Can we go get McDonald's for breakfast?" Rose called up to the angsty driver.

"Only because you got shot. But even then, I'm not doing this every time you get shot." Every passenger of the Winnebago threw their arms up and cheered. Rose was still upset with 2-D, but seeing his smile, the anger faded away; she couldn't remain angry at him for long. She wanted to understand why he did it. Her foot touched his and he looked up at her. She could tell there was regret there. A small smile from her caused him to smile and tap her foot back. 

One thought it was an apology, while the other thought it meant full forgiveness.

Noodle's nails dug into the table of the Winnebago, rage filling her. Lying to Rose wasn't her favorite thing to do. Then again, the language barrier prevented her from telling the truth. She should've shaken her head and Russel would've agreed with her. 

Russel began to drum on the table, showing Rose a certain pattern of a beat and she began to join. Noodle stood on the couch of the table, placing a foot on the table and pretending to play the guitar as she made the supporting sounds. Murdoc joined in with his low voice, mimicking his bass instrument. 

2-D joined in with the vocals. 

Together, they made beautiful music, even if it wasn't with an instrument. It was an instant cheer-up for the fucked-up family and a moment of peace as they had a five-hour drive ahead of them and a pit-stop at McDonalds.


	27. Phase One, Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOg5VxrRTi0  
> The song for this chapter is Duran-Duran's Hungry Like The Wolf!

As they pulled up into Kong studio's long driveway, a sense of nostalgia washed over Rose. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed home. Was that really what Kong was to her? Home? It honestly sounded like it. Glancing around at the table, Noodle playing with her Happy Meal toy, Russel and 2-D pitting their own against each other, she rested a hand on her unbroken arm's palm. 

Noodle's hands slammed against the window, her face quickly following as she smiled from ear to ear, staring at Kong. "Hoooome!" She squealed, hopping off the couch and sliding to the back of the Winnebago as Murdoc was still driving up the hill.

"Sit the fuck down! We aren't there yet!" He snapped, but he had to admit that he, too was relieved that they were finally home. It'd been at least five days since he sat on the couch and he wondered if his ass indent was gone. Would be quite a shame if it was; he'd spent an hour every day making that spot his. 

Russel groaned as he slammed his head on the table, depressed at the fact he'd been halfway through a taxidermy product when they got Murdoc's call. This meant that it was completely ruined and possibly rotted by now; he'd have to clean it out. 

Sally, with a grin full of glee from the third floor, pressed her face against the window. She watched as a tiny Murdoc got out of the Winnebago, stretching. She wiggled her hips as she licked the tiny Murdoc, more or less the window and followed that up by licking the tiny Rose. They were home. 

Finally.

Her head snapped to the sound of steps down the hallway; shit. It was that one druggie that decided to take up residence in her precious Rose's room. Her nails scratched against the window; he reminded her of 2-D, in a way, by being too close to Rose. If someone was closer than her, it was too close. Still, she couldn't lay her eyes on her precious flower and satanist for any longer; she had to bolt before the defacer found her. 

Sally dashed down the hall, her smile having turned into a grimace. It almost reminded her of the time Rose caught her stalking her once, down the darkened hall of Kong in the middle of the night as she was leaving 2-D's room to head back to her own. She'd even turned back to look at Sally! Oh, the look of fear in her eyes... 

As Sally quickly locked herself in the third-floor closet, she sat on the floor, pulling Paula's missing purse into her lap. In it, there was about five hundred in cash, a credit card and a phone with the charger. She plugged it into the wall, switched it on and went to the contacts to call Murdoc for the fortieth time this month. Sally wished he'd pick up, just so she could hear him breathe, maybe even hear Rose's voice.

Jason, in the meanwhile, was nearing the window, one of Noodle's chocolate bars halfway in his mouth. Apparently, there were people here and whoever was in the culturally-oriented room had a great chocolate stash with a staggering amount of pictures of some girl sleeping, while others were of the girl while she wasn't looking. Little pink and red hearts were scribbled on in some sort of marker. Jason had taken extreme pleasure in cutting up the person's collection and gluing it in the shape of a dick to whoever's it was' door.

He came to a stop, glancing at the Winnebago. It took a moment to register as the chocolate dropped out of his mouth. He dashed to get his shit, as fast as he possibly could so the owners didn't know he was there.

As he was packing, the door open and Jason froze as he heard a girly scream. 

Rose wasn't expecting, of all things, to return to someone looting her room. In the dark, he looked tall, possibly even taller than 2-D. As the boy stepped into the light, she screamed again, falling over onto her ass as she scrambled backward. The guy looked like an absolute freak show!

Piercings and tattoos littered his body, his eyes a deep blue which were contorted into possibly one of the most violent looks anyone had ever given Rose other than her father. His hair was a bright green and the dark circles under his eyes made it look like he never slept. 

As Jason stepped out into the hall, he turned his head only to get slugged in the face. He slid across the ground, holding his nose and glaring up at the perpetrator; our favorite Satanist.

Murdoc's chest was heaving, his face flushed like he'd just ran a marathon. As soon as Jason laid eyes on the fairly weird skinned, ugly fuck and his boner popped, he knew he had to have it; that ass. Hatred burned inside him but he so badly wanted to plow that fuck that punched him into the ground.

"What the fuck are you doin' 'ere?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to rent out a room." Jason babbled, thinking that they may not call the cops or hurt him or something. But that meant no more free shit. Fuck. "S-Someone put up an ad, you see." 

Murdoc grunted. "Really? Well, we could use help with the rent." He thought for a second. "Empty rooms, too. Huhn." He offered his hand to the intruder, who considered rejecting it, but decided to play nice until he had what he wanted. "Two rooms down the hall. Rent is $450. Have it by the end of the month and we'll talk how long you wanna stay." Jason nodded, feeling as if he dodged a bullet. On top of that, at the same time, he'd definitely, even if it meant having to kill someone, fuck that fucking gremlin-looking mother-fucker. 

His eyes narrowed as the girl who screamed dashed to catch up with the guy who was walking away. She'd get in the way, he could tell. Maybe a little accident would help her out of the way of his quest to get it on?

"Thank you, Muds." All Murdoc did was grunt. But, then he paused. Rose had almost died. Normally, he wouldn't give a shit. But what if she'd been pregnant with his kid? On top of that, having sex with 2-D.. He could literally smell the blue-haired fuck on her. 

Murdoc grinned. "Meet me in the Winnebago in ten." 

He'd fix that.

Meanwhile, Genji was sorting through a collection of fetuses where he operated on Rose. He turned to the jar where her fetus should be, picking it up and giving it a kiss. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," He whispered, holding it close. "She can't love you, but I can." He began to cry, sinking to the floor, holding it close, begging for forgiveness. He hated abortions, but some of the gang members got angsty when he refused. Threatened his beloved family. All that was left. 

Genji frowned. The jar was abnormally cold. He rose it to eyesight level before his jaw dropped open. "Pickle?" Genji questioned, tilting his head to the side before chuckling, pushing his glasses up to his nose. "I see. So it's alive after all. What a-" His face paled. So he may have completely hallucinated taking the baby out. Which meant he had possibly done something else or stared off into the distance. Which means he also gave out false information. 

His attention snapped to his cell, which he quickly dialed Murdoc {Much to his discontent} with. "Pickuppickuppickup. You may be the faaaather..." Wait a minute. Wouldn't there be a bump if she was around four weeks? Was she even pregnant?" 

"Genji? The fuck do you want, eh? A little busy. Genji?" 

He clicked the red button, crawling into his corner. Well, the best thing that Genji could do was wait. Wait & see. What were the chances that she was pregnant, anyways? None! None at all! Although, if she'd had sex recently, perhaps she was. Well, what did Genji know? He wasn't a doctor- wait a minute.


	28. Phase One, Chapter Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oa-ae6_okmg  
> The song for this chapter is Mad World, by Gary Jules.

As Rose walked down the hall, passing by Jason's room, he opened the door. His height was quite intimidating to her. Jason's eyes scanned the runt, her height just a little shorter than the gremlin's. His glare pierced her as she tried to look in any other direction than at Jason, but her curiosity of his appearance led her to stare straight into his eyes. A shiver ran down her backbone as he made an even angrier face at her. She somewhat chickened out, speeding up to walk away.

Rose tried glancing back, turning her head a little to check if he was still glaring down the way at her. It seemed like he'd lost interest, turning his back on her to go check something else out. Rose didn't know what, but honestly, she didn't want to know. He didn't look like 2-D or Murdoc; he looked shadier than them. Like a real criminal. Someone who would seriously hurt or kill someone. She hadn't seen Murdoc or 2-D do anything of the sort yet and she was of the firm belief that they couldn't. They wouldn't.

As she reached the top of the stairs, little flashes of the night of the party went through her head, translating to her eyes; it was almost as if she could see her breath as people faded into being around her, her father at the bottom, staring into her eyes, that wicked smile of his branding itself into her mind. She felt her mouth go dry as he swept down the stairs once more. The bodies were moving against her, crushing her, making it harder to breathe even with her lungs feeling like they had frostbite.

The urge to follow his memory was almost hypnotic; she was tracing her steps. Walking down to the parking lot, her flip-flops echoing across it. She began to speed up. She had to know. Was it a dream? Was he here? Her hair swayed as she broke into a run, her heart hammering in her chest, reliving that night. Her nails scratched against the concrete wall as she spun around it, one palm resting lower on the wall beside her, the arm with the cast.

Where Lacy should've been, there was nothing there. No photos. No evidence that he'd been here, that it was all real. Her other hand gently slid over the fabric of her black stretch pants, to the bullet wound, all patched up. It was like she could breathe again. He had been here. He'd come back again. She wanted to believe it was nothing but a dream but for the most part, the section of her mind that dealt with things like this knew that was a lie.

Her reality was screaming for her to wake up, that her mother was dead. To actually grieve rather than pretending it didn't happen. To talk about it with someone, to tell them what her dad had made her do. All she wanted was someone to talk to. Shaking the feelings from inside her, pushing them to the edge of her mind so they'd stay far away, she knew she had to bury them again. Drown them. If she could just forget them, escape reality for but a second they wouldn't be real again. She'd be able to sleep without nightmares.

A peaceful mind. Her head turned to Murdoc's Winnebago. When she slept with 2-D, it just didn't have that same effect. Sure, she felt good, but she didn't forget. Same with drugs. Everything with 2-D felt so blatantly vanilla. Sure, vanilla wasn't bad, but for some reason, she felt like he wouldn't be able to give her anything she needed. He was like a child and Rose had never really been around any children except for Noodle; even then, Noodle was able to independently take care of herself and Rose never needed to really do anything.

One step towards the Winnebago and her heart and mind were giving her mixed signals. One was screaming yes, the other, no. There were still images fresh in her mind, like the one from months ago. Her eyes replayed the scene before her as she watched herself fall out of the motor home, skid across the ground, naked. It was a bad idea, she told herself. Gain some self-control. Common sense. Anything. Just don't step into his Winnebago.

Another step.

2-D was rushing out to comfort her. Another reason she shouldn't. He was right to be angry; he didn't understand why she slept with him consensually. Honestly, Rose didn't understand either, beyond the feeling it gave her. Did that make her a whore? Wanting to forget everything? The death of the only person who loved her? Maybe another person could love her again. Maybe the blue-haired, adorable, childish, wonderful, sweet boy.

But her heart turned dark again as she remembered his betrayal, forcing himself onto her, calling her all those horrid names. It was an internal struggle. She hadn't even been struggling like she did with Muds. He just took everything he had out on her because he could. Her face was still fucked up from that. They were like physical reminders of how 2-D had taken her trust and crushed it to dust right in front of her eyes.

A third step. There wasn't honestly any reason to resist. She didn't really have anything beyond Gorillaz. Even then, Murdoc's face was the one that popped up into her head. Turning her own to the side, she saw Murdoc smashing a plank into the back of her father's head. So much had happened in this parking lot. So much history in the course of a year and some change.

Of course, just this parking lot wasn't enough to hold her gratitude towards Murdoc for his most recent deeds. If he'd ignored that, if he'd ran like 2-D did, which she'd expect him to do more than run at the gun, then she'd be dead right now. Maybe they'd have hired another assistant. Maybe nobody would care or remember that she was gone and she'd be nothing more than a nameless corpse in a field that nobody would cry over as her father ran free. She held back her emotions, not wanting to let any of them spill out. Just like her mother had told her; to be strong. That was what she had to do.

Even as she stood at the door of the Winnebago, a part of her still begging to turn back, her head dropped in shame as she whispered, "I'm sorry, mommy. I can't stay strong." The motor home's door swung open and Rose's eyes met Murdoc's as she rose her head. He wasn't smiling, he wasn't even cracking a dirty joke or flirting of some sort. It surprised her; she expected him to be less mature about this. He motioned for her to come forwards.

"You gonna stay out there, or you gonna come in?"

Honestly, Rose wasn't even sure if she ever actually had a choice. Sure, the option was there. She had what people counted as a choice. But it was all dependent on her mind and frankly her mind was in no state to make good decisions right now. Hell, her crazy fucking father was after her, holding a gun and a death wish. She was pretty much alone in this fucked up world. Screwing her rapist, playing around with someone she'd considered her friend. Rose knew she was nothing more than something to pass the time that 2-D probably didn't even realize was going by; a toy. That's what she felt like. Something to break when things didn't go someone's way.

So, Rose took a step into the trailer. Her life was fucked anyway; she might as well make whatever she had left of it something. As long as she wasn't alone. It didn't matter if it was physically or emotionally, although she'd never get the emotional security she desired, not like this.

So, the only way was physically.

Murdoc's hands slid from her sides to her hips as he pulled her close, her body pressed tightly against him. His tongue slithered between her lips and they began a game of war; she barely felt it when he slammed her against his closet's door. His leg snaked in between hers, giving her slight satisfaction as he rubbed it against her crotch. Something was different about this time around; it wasn't Murdoc's usual behavior with her.

His fingers slid downwards, over the sewn-up bullet hole and she shivered. She wanted him not to touch there, an ugly part of her that triggered her emotions, an endless reminder of the fact that everyone who'd loved her was dead or trying to kill her. Heated, quiet moans escaped her as his fingers gently traced over her clit just above her pants; it was a different feeling to be touched there, clothed. With a little twist of his thumb, both the fabric and the fingertip pressed against her, causing a slight gasp.

He withdrew his touch but it left her thirsting for more. She wanted to do something for him. As she pushed him down on the bed, his gaze quizzical, she knelt. It hurt a little to stress the stitches of the wound but it was fine; she was sure it wouldn't break. Her free hand fumbled with his belt, annoyedly trying to unbuckle it. Unfortunately, with one hand, doing this wasn't the easiest. He stopped her.

A look of fear crossed her face; was he no longer in the mood? She trembled at the thought of another night ruined by nightmares. She couldn't deal with that. Rose knew she looked like shit. Probably ugly. Especially with this bruises and 2-D's light bitemark; of course, she wouldn't be attractive and even if Murdoc wasn't the prettiest girl in the pageant he still seemed to be more interested in pretty girls, like Paula. Girls prettier than her.

His hands strayed to his buckle as he quickly undid it. With quick thwaps to signify it sliding out of the loops, it was gone, the jingle of the belt like music to Rose's ears. Her hand quickly unzipped his pants, revealing the white of the underwear he was wearing. Her confusion was only furthered as he wrapped the belt around her neck, sliding it through itself. He tightened it around her throat. She could still breathe, but the weight difference was clear; she never wore necklaces or earrings or anything, so it was new to her.

While the way Murdoc smelt wasn't the greatest, there was still the factor of his musk to count in with the usual stench of alcohol in the Winnebago. As she pulled down the hem of his underwear, revealing his semi-erect cock, she wasn't quite sure where to go next beyond what she'd seen in porn. Even then, Rose wasn't quite the type to watch porn. She'd only seen it once or twice. Her thumb traced along the head, trailing upwards towards his pubic hair. She watched him for a reaction, but he simply exhaled.

Her lips gently brushed across the tip, her tongue flicking out, circling around the hole. This time Murdoc did groan. It was slight, but still a type of reaction Rose was looking for. She put half of the head in her mouth, her lips tightening around it, her tongue swirling. Pulling it out made a popping sound; Murdoc's eyes closed as he let out a deep breath. "Fuck, love. You're torturing me here."

Rose let out a slight giggle, her inhibitions going out the window, her mind going blank, just as she'd wanted. She pointed his cock upwards, resting it against his shirt, as she gave a nice, long lick from where his balls started to the very tip. He chuckled, dryly, his fingers running through her hair as she exhaled slightly onto his shaft. Her breath tickled it, causing another sharp intake of breath from Murdoc.

Her lips once more surrounded his dick, the warmth filling her mouth. This time, she attempted to fit more of him into her mouth, which she found surprisingly difficult. Rose had overheard from one of the perverted guys in her old high school that usually sat a table away from her that teeth hurt, so she tried her best to keep them off of his cock. Her teeth lightly grazed the skin and her eyes flashed up, worried that she'd ruined the mood. However, Murdoc's eyes were closed tight, his head drawn back in ecstasy. He hadn't even flinched.

His cock had grown bigger in her mouth; he was no longer semi-erect and his full length was much harder to get into her mouth than she'd expected. Sliding him out of her mouth with another popping sound, she planted a kiss on the head. Murdoc's hand pulled back and the belt tightened around her throat, causing pain and discomfort but also a strange feeling she couldn't quite shake as she rubbed her legs together, trying to get some sort of pleasure in between the pain.

His cock was down her throat again, her tongue sliding down the shaft as she sucked as hard as she could with something as thick and hard as his dick. Saliva dripped down her chin and coated half of his cock as she withdrew once more.

He opened his eyes before standing up, pulling her up as well. Before she knew it, she was the one on the bed, pinned down, Murdoc on top of her. She somewhat expected him to simply pull off her pants and go at it, but with what she was about to get, she wouldn't be disappointed. His lips gently rode over 2-D's previous light bite as he loosened and pulled the belt down. Rose was nervous that he'd find it and get mad.

She gasped as his teeth sunk over 2-D's previous indents in her flesh, deeper. Harder. Her clit was now soaked; there was something about the feel of his teeth that turned her on. She was lost in pain and pleasure as he seemed to clamp on, not wanting to let go; that pleasure furthered as he sucked on her neck. She could tell that he'd pierced through as she felt the pain of blood well to the surface in an attempt to clot the wound. However, he seemed to suck that up too before pulling away his teeth, his tongue running over the new bite marks that he'd given her. "That's better," He whispered, his lips moving to her ear. "My bites look much better on you, don't you think?"

Her heart almost skipped a beat; his whisper was low, his words implicating that he knew. Her worry skyrocketed, but all Murdoc did was nuzzle against them, his nose resting against the bites, causing both pain and comfort. Just the feel of his skin against her own was enough for the ultimate high.

His calloused hands reached her belly; they weren't as soft as 2-D's, but they had a certain charm of their own to them. He was gentle, his fingers splaying out as he slid across it towards her chest, his index finger lightly rolling over one of her nipples. Her broken arm was as out of the way as it could get, while her other arm rested above her head. She knew she wouldn't be using it. She wouldn't have to.

As his hand slid back down, digging into the stretchy, black fabric of her pants and the silky fabric of her panties, pulling them to her feet, she slowly raised them so it would come off smoothly. His fingers slowly penetrated her, rubbing the outer lips of her clit as he kissed her. He dipped them in, causing Rose to gasp. She felt so sensitive, so absolutely exposed, but that, she didn't mind. As long as the horrible feelings inside her went away. So she could stop thinking about how nobody would care if she was gone.

His other hand found its way to his dick as he guided it to the entrance that it was so familiar with. A quick thrust and he was into her soft, warm core; one hand strayed to the makeshift leash of the collar he'd made for her, the other wrapped underneath the small of her back, causing her to arch. It made him feel better as he fucked her, reaching deep inside her, their moans mixing together, sweat dripping down his brow.

His lips pressed against hers as his hips pressed against her lower hips; he pulled on the leash, causing the collar to tighten, which in turn tightened her insides. "Fuck yes, babe." He groaned, the slapping sounds progressively growing tighter. Rose could barely breathe, the pleasure almost unintelligible from the pain. She could barely separate him, her climax coming up so fast; but even when she did, he continued, her sensitivity multiplied. Another climax after another.

Her eyes rolled back and she wasn't sure if she was getting enough air. Hell, she didn't care. Her nails scratched Murdoc's back, leaving deep, red marks as he slammed against her. He felt her tightly clamp around him and all he could do was do three final thrusts, one spurt of his cum coming out with the first. He withdrew his cock to the base of the head before slamming in again, another fix of his hot seed ready for her.

As he thrust in quickly once more, he'd emptied everything he'd had into her. His final groan was elongated, his breath hot and shallow as he pulled out.

He'd kept his gray shirt on. As he lit a cigarette with his lighter, placing it on the table, he listened to the sounds of running water. This was the first time he'd let her stay in the middle of the day, even simply to have a shower; maybe the fact she was shot made him soft on her. Maybe it was just looking at those injuries. Just thinking of them enraged him; if that fucker hurt any of his band, of which he considered Rose a part of having been with them for even this long, he'd regret it.

Murdoc would make sure of that. Usually, he wouldn't care, but he needed them. He needed Rose because... he needed her. That was it. She warmed his bed when he was... fuck. He didn't feel any particular way for her. The simple explanation is that sometimes, even he got lonely; even he desired company from time to time, hence why he did quick fucks to get those feelings out of the way.

He wasn't too confident with his past; in fact, not even the other members knew about what his dad did. Rose barely knew anything. But she knew he was abused and that was a lot more than what the others knew. Maybe it was time to simply just let it out. Get it over with. When he was famous, he'd need to tell the world, anyways. Everyone who's ever stepped on him would eat their words, eat the pain they'd given him. His father, his bullies, those fucks who made him dance like Pinnochio. Everyone who'd humiliated him. He would be someone.

Murdoc's other hand strayed to his cross, his index finger rubbing across the gold. The deal he made. It would come to pass, he could feel it. Of course, he wouldn't pay up his soul until it did. Maybe he wouldn't pay up at all. If he didn't have to, he wouldn't. He'd find a way. He didn't care about life; he cared about getting the most out of what the world owed him. Rose didn't know about the deal, not like the others did.

In this world, he felt like he didn't matter. He never did and honestly, all he wanted was someone who he could matter to; with the loving masses, he'd have that. He had his band, although what everyone had for each other wasn't quite love. 2-D. Russel. Noodle. Rose. Rose was just a side dish to the band; he wasn't even sure why, when their name popped up, he could imagine Rose beside them. A part of them. Fuck, the bitch was tone-deaf. Hell, she didn't even know fuck all about music.

But still.

She was one of them. Whether Murdoc wanted to admit it or not.

Meanwhile, Rose's eyes were closed. Drops of water were hitting her shoulders and running over her face, little waterfalls separated by the bridge of her nose. She pressed her face against the grimy wall, took a deep breath. A shuddering sensation went through her as she silently sobbed, having fallen to her darkness again. She didn't know what to do; she felt like she had given up on her mother.

The light in the bathroom began to flicker.

She wiped away her tears and peeked out from behind the curtain. There was nobody there, nothing to really make the lights flicker; perhaps it was the bulb? She hissed and jumped backward as the water turned scalding hot. Stepping out of the shower, wrapping one of the towels around her with her free arm, she sighed. She twisted the knob, turning off the shower; clearly, Murdoc's Winnebago had quite the electrical problem. Maybe it was simply from years of abuse and overuse.

Rose quickly slipped on her pants and panties, more or less eager to get out of the trailer and be gone. She got her fix and the dose of guilt that came after, but those poisonous, toxic feelings were gone. Just as she wanted.

Murdoc got up as he watched Rose leave the washroom, prepared to talk to her. Unfortunately, Rose seemed to have other plans as she slipped on her flip-flops and walked out of the Winnebago, leaving Murdoc speechless. He'd never seen a woman so eager to leave him be and he certainly didn't expect it from Rose, of all people.

He dejectedly watched her leave, getting smaller the further she got from the Winnebago. He didn't take his eyes off her until her feet disappeared up the stairs. With that, he turned around. Maybe talking about shit wasn't his style. She wouldn't care. Yet, for some reason, it was a lot easier around her than it was around someone else. Maybe it was the fact they'd been fucking for so long. Familiar with one another, maybe. Shared the same past? Not quite.

There was just something he couldn't place about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?  
> I'm trying to upgrade my style.  
> Fail or success?  
> I HONESTLY THINK I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK I JUST OH MY FUCK I FEEL LIKE I'VE REACHED A HIGHER LEVEL OF EXISTENCE AND SKILL  
> Maybe i haven't  
> up to you


	29. Phase One, Chapter Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is called Youth, by Daughter.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I1p_sXflQQ
> 
> HAPPY FUCKING BIRTHDAY 2-D  
> THIS CHAPTER IS IN YOUR PERSPECTIVE AS SIGN OF MY WORSHIP  
> AND I HATE WRITING SPEECH IMPEDIMENTS  
> IT'S WEIRD  
> THERE YOU GO YOU PAIN IN MY ASS  
> BE HAPPY
> 
> http://www.strawpoll.me/13026141  
> Here's the poll for this chapter!
> 
>  
> 
> THE DISCORD IS EXTREMELY ACTIVE!  
> EIGHTEEN MEMBERS!  
> ASK FOR A LINK IF YOU WANNA JOIN OR HIT UP A PREVIOUS CHAPTER!

2-D sat in his bedroom, staring at the screen. A zombie flick was playing on the telly, but he could barely focus. Something he had no trouble doing when it came to his favorite type of movie. Something he had trouble with when doing anything else. His mind was straying back to the guilt of what he'd done to Rose, how he could've killed the baby in her tummy. He wasn't a killer. That wasn't him. An' leaving her behind like that? He was turning back to go get her, but then he saw the gun and blanked out and before he knew it all he saw was Rose being carried into the Winnebago by Murdoc.

He cared for her. He really did. But he didn't know what to do to apologize, to hold her, to comfort her, when he didn't even know if she'd let him touch her. He knew he'd gone too far. Heck, he'd even enjoyed it a little bit, though he'd never admit it out loud. She was already hurt when he hurt her and she got even more hurt and he ran away and he just couldn't-

2-D took a deep, shaky breath. He was a fucking worthless coward. That was the honest way he felt about it. Everything bad that seemed to happen to that poor girl, he'd been there. And he'd done nothing about it. He'd known her for a year and he hadn't done right by her, not once. 2-D wanted to change that; the kind of feelings he had for Rose were different than the ones he had for Paula. She'd been there for him through thick and thin and he couldn't do the same; he really liked Paula, 'onest, but damn it, he just couldn't get Rose out of his head, the guilt buried underneath his pillow out of his room, not even if he snorted a thousand lines. Not even if he snorted a million.

2-D was still smarting over Paula; doubted he'd ever really be over her, in a way. She made him feel a special something-something. Just like the girl he'd known all those years ago, the one he'd let get away. Charla. God, he hadn't thought of her in a long while. Sometimes, Rose reminded him of her. Weren't quite the same, but Charla, gosh that girl was a whole lotta thighs. Thicker than Rose, certainly. Beautiful.

He wondered what Charla was getting up to nowadays. He was a little torn between thinking of her and Rose; then again, he'd given Charla his virginity, so of course, she was someone to remember. She would always be his first, but it didn't mean she'd be his last. 2-D swung his legs over the edge of his bed, blinking as he stared at the floor. Thinking. Musing.

Couldn't really remember why he and Charla were through. Maybe it was a fight. Maybe her fault, maybe his. There were a lot of fuzzy moments from back then. Couldn't really put two and two together, maybe that was why he kept her in his contacts. To remember something important from back then he forgot. But for the life of him, he couldn't.

What was the point of keepin' her in if he couldn't even remember why she was there? His hand strayed to his cellphone, which he picked up, the light illuminating his face, highlighting his features. He scrolled down to Charla, whom, after staring at for a moment, he hit delete contact. 

It asked for him to confirm it and without a second thought, he pressed accept.

He stood from the bed, walking to his door and twisting the knob open. He quickly ruffled his hair, spiffing himself up. Jus' in case he ran into Rose or something. He wanted to apologize for the things he did to her, finally get his shit straight an' start something with her. Like he should've. Rose was a good woman when you gave her a chance and honestly, 2-D had basically been giving Murdoc what he wanted every time, making it almost consensual. Could he really judge her for that when he did it too?

The doorbell rang. 2-D couldn't help but wonder who it was an' seeing nobody walkin' down the hall but him, he decided to go and check it out. Clearly, however, he was too late as Rose turned down the hall. Their eyes met and his gaze dropped to her neck, his mouth hanging open. Painful, angry red marks like she'd been choked lined her neck an' on top of that, a bleeding, bloody bite mark.

Right where he'd bitten her.

Anger somewhat filled him; he wanted to ignore the door, slam her against the wall an' bite over it again so that it would be his, not Murdoc's. But, alas, it was not to be as he reached towards her when she pulled open the door, revealing a soaking wet Charla.

The rain was pouring outside, the tap-tap-tap sound splashing against the pavement. While Rose was merely confused, 2-D knew exactly who that was. The memories were faint an' blurry, hard to pull out of the back of his mind but that face was memorable. "Charla..?" He murmured, his eyebrows knitting together in a tight frown as thousands of questions raced through his poor, overused mind. The biggest one was more or less what she was doin' here. His head tilted to the side as the girl's hands rose to her mouth, her face frozen in shock and horror as she stared back at the blue-haired man.

"Stu...?"

2-D's eyes shot over to Rose, who stepped back as Charla raced forwards, her hands touching an' prodding him. He found it a little annoying, actually. She was so worried, but for what reason? Had she always been like this? It felt more or less awkward in front of Rose, but admittedly, a part of him was glad to see her. Then again, maybe some notification or somethin' popped off in her head when he deleted her number.

"Stu, oh my god, what happened to you?"

He didn't answer her. Mostly cuz he didn't know what to say what with her sudden appearance. He simply stared at her, Rose in the corner of his eye, her arms crossed with her free arm sorta resting on her cast. Waiting for the girl to notice her or say why she was 'ere. 2-D was a little worried that Rose might be thinkin' something strange. He almost forgot for a sec that he was supposed to be angry at her for that bite mark. But he couldn't, not after what he did to her. He supposed he should answer Charla now. Wasn't happy to see her, not at all, especially unannounced. "Plenty happened, Charla. Bad shit. I met a guy. We got into a band. He popped a tire into my eyes. Don't worry, they're fine."

Charla's arms wrapped around his midsection an' 2-D froze, his gaze turning to Rose. What would she think? But she was already off down the hall, with those fucking bite marks. Fuck! He'd lost his chance to secure anything with her now, what with Charla being here. "I missed you, 2-D. I missed you too."

What did she mean, too? 2-D was startin' to get upset. He hadn't been himself since the entire thing in the woods with Rose. It was easier to get angry an' even more easy to want to hurt someone. All he could think of was how it wasn't him, but maybe it was. "What're you here for, Charla?"

"What do you mean?" Her face twisted into a confused one as she stepped away from him. Her eyes moved around the room, probably taking in the glory an' the prison that was Kong. They rested on him once more. "Your rude friend told me that you missed me. Wanted to see me, right? Then he hung up." There it was, that twirling of her hair between her fingers again. "Didn't even leave me an address or anything."

"Murdoc." 2-D stated, loathing the very name. Why the fuck was Murdoc... when could he have... where did he even get Charla's number? How did he even know about Charla? She was a high-school girlfriend. The girl that took his virginity. Someone who he had a lovely romance with, but that was it, just a childish, fantasy romance. He was frustrated. Wanted to get to Rose before Murdoc could get to her. But with Charla comin' up and all, that wasn't as possible. Especially because 2-D got those same little butterflies in his chest for her.

Part of him wanted to get angry an' yell, but it wasn't Charla's fault. It was Murdoc's. He couldn't just go chasing off after Rose, now, could he? He also didn't wanna put Charla on the spot after she came all this way and all. It was clear that she had some suitcases by the door, so he quickly grabbed them, which seemed to make Charla smile.

"Yeah, Murdoc. If you don't mind, I'd love to give him a piece of my mind for hanging up on me like that." 2-D stopped; approachin' Muds was a bad idea. Especially for someone like Charla; jus' look at what he did to Rose. If he couldn't protect Rose, he had to at least protect Charla, someone who was pulled in by some stupid twist of fate.

His arms wrapped around her, pulling her in for a close hug. Fuck, why did it feel like he was making a choice when he did this? In his mind, it was Rose or Charla. An' he'd just took a massive step towards Charla. "You don't need to go and talk to him. Just spend today with me, okay?" Fucking hell. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Rose talking to Noodle. Her eyes strayed to his and as he was huggin' his ex-lover, starin' at his new one, his heart lurched. Her eyes dropped to the floor and he saw her laugh a little with the expression of a broken-hearted girl on her face.

It was like a mix of feelings, somethin' 2-D wasn't used to bein' able to see. There was hurt, there was anguish, maybe a bit of disbelief. Just a minute ago, he'd been coming down here to do this to her, but life doesn't always go as planned. He swore that he still would, but he needed to get Charla outta here first without hurtin' her. Without her gettin' hurt.

Unfortunately, that may mean he'd need to hurt Rose even more.


	30. Phase One, Chapter Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJvxS9ZfzAY  
> The song for this chapter is Golden Youth!
> 
> Now, let's talk about some things- When I ask for criticism, I mean criticism. Not your opinion. If it's something you WANT, then it's not criticism, it's opinion. If it's about Rose's personality, it's your opinion. If it's about the way 2-D or Murdoc act, it's your opinion. 99% of people that read this fic believe they are in character, so I'm of course going to believe the majority over the minority. I ask for feedback CONSTANTLY, especially in the discord chat. There's even a section where I ask SOLELY for people's opinions. If you want your opinion to matter THAT MUCH as to post a hateful comment in the comments as an anon, come on Discord. You can't anon there. 
> 
> Criticism helps the story; opinion does NOT. 
> 
> Here is a small excerpt on Criticism vs Opinion. {Sorry, good readers, I'm spamming you Q_Q}
> 
> "The difference between Opinion and Criticism is simple. Anyone can have an opinion. (I sure have them all the time!) An Opinion — I liked that movie, I like those shoes, that haircut is terrible, I hated that book — does not require reason, back-up theoretics or any level of education on the subject. Opinion is instinctual and doesn’t need to adhere to the format of intellectual discourse: theory, statement, back-up reasoning, historical placement. In the book world, opinion does matter, because it assists with word-of-mouth, which in my little experience in the publishing world, can be very helpful for book sales. If a friend likes the same books as you in the past, you’re more likely to adhere to their opinions and recommendations. A friend recommends a book because they “liked it” or “it was cool” or “there’s a killer twist!” “OMG Edward is sooooo sexy!” Those are opinions that are not dependent on intellectual analysis.
> 
>  
> 
> Criticism, on the other hand, is dependent on intellectual analysis. Examples must be provided when someone judges a book (“it was the best book of the year” “it was terrible” “it was sexist” “it sets the art of writing back 25 years”). This takes a level of knowledge about literature, the subject matter, the author, the political ideas, the history of the media, the place the piece holds in the entire history of the media, etc. etc. etc. When a critic writes about a book they are required to provide reasons and examples from the work.
> 
> Perhaps, worst of all, is the opinionated reader self-proclaiming their thoughts as Criticism. Whereas Criticism opens a discussion between the book, readers, other critics and the author, Opinions silence this discussion. The most obvious way to tell an Opinion representing itself as Critique, is when request to explain their Critique, the phrase “well, that’s my opinion” is used to gag the conversation. In the worst cases, these interactions or desire for conversation turn into online slander or bullying against the askance. For instance, describing a book as sexists or racists, is a Critique which needs in-depth analysis and carefully formulated writing. You wouldn’t just walk up to a stranger on the street and call them a sexists without proof, would you? Only a crazy person would do so."
> 
> I'm sorry for the spam. Starting the chapter now! Hopefully this keeps these nasty opinionated people at bay and gets me some actual criticism.

Rose didn't really know what to do next. Getting her daily fix of Murdoc was always nice, but it left a hole that seemed to grow bigger each time. Seeing 2-D lightly filled that hole; maybe he couldn't make her forget like Murdoc could but with their little escapades to his room, putting up those glow in the dark stars, it filled her with life that she so desperately needed.

Hearing the doorbell while on the way to 2-D's room, Rose went to open it, ignoring the stinging pain of Murdoc's bite. She'd have to explain to him why; maybe he'd forgive her, maybe not. Either way, she was still unprepared for what happened next as the girl beyond the door, soaking wet, pushed past her while addressing someone. "There's nobody named-"

Rose paused, watching the way she gently touched him. The guilty look on his face told Rose all she needed to know, that this 'Stu' was 2-D. Maybe it was a fake name. This girl, whoever she was, Rose had never seen her before. Maybe a hookup. Made sense. Of course, that was what 'Stu' would do after all the shit he put her through, just another move doused in cowardice. She was stupid to have believed that now that her mind wasn't so heavy that she could try to talk to him about anything.

She turned away to walk down the hall. With the marks on her neck, he'd probably have shunned her anyways. She was somewhat disappointed in herself, what with sleeping with Murdoc and even more disappointed with believing that she could run to 2-D to tell him anything.

He didn't care, just like everyone else in her fucked up life. A tug on her hand, the feeling of small fingers sliding across her palm and she glanced down to see Noodle, who was looking up at her.

She bent down kneeling to Noodle's level. Noodle's fingers on her other hand slid over the top of her head, petting her softly. Rose felt a good amount off comfort having Noodle there beside her, even if it was just for a second. Noodle simply said nothing but glanced down the hall at 2-D and Charla before looking back at Rose. "Good puppy."

Rose still wasn't sure why Noodle only knew phrases in English that pertained to dog training, but in its own way, her words made sense. Rose couldn't help herself and before she knew it, her arms were around Noodle, holding her closely. She somewhat expected to get hit as anyone who babied or touched Noodle without her permission or Noodle initiating it first got hit; however, much to her surprise, Noodle's tiny arms were around Rose, making a little ball of protection even just for a second. 

Still, it comforted Rose beyond what she imagined it would. Almost as much as using Murdoc to forget her past. Realization dawned on her as maybe this is what she wanted; someone who would just hold her. Maybe it wasn't the sex, maybe it wasn't the love. 2-D and Rose had never so much as cuddled while they were awake; she had a habit of slipping into his arms while she slept. It could be that all Rose wanted was to finally be able to fall asleep in his arms having been there in the first place. Seeing whoever this Charla was though, the fact that she was in his arms instead, it made her... jealous.

She didn't like to admit to it; Rose knew it was bad. 2-D had done something terrible to her and she couldn't just forgive him for it but then she imagined the good times, the things that made her feel like she'd swallowed a jar of butterflies. The terrible events of that night were glazed over, the effect of sleeping with Murdoc. Her mind was so hazed that she didn't care what was right and what was wrong anymore. 

She'd fucked up too much. He'd fucked up too much. Was there really any difference between her fuckups and his own? Then again, Rose never expected to be left behind by the boy who'd she'd thought to be sweet. On top of that, she felt like the painkillers Genji had given her were wearing off. Her cravings were back; she had no idea where to get them and there was no way in hell she'd be running back to 2-D with that girl in his arms for her next fix. 

Her fingers trembled slightly as she stared at her palm, her arm still around Noodle while her broken one tried its best to wrap around Noodle. God, she was thinking about her addiction to painkillers while hugging a child. Rose wanted nothing more than to just enjoy life but it seemed like the choices she made led her down an especially fucked path. 

She knew where 2-D kept his pills.

As she let go of Noodle, the child skipped down the hall humming a happy tune and Rose's thoughts went to alarm bells. She couldn't steal from 2-D. That was out of the question, right? But that one guy. Jason. He looked like he was into shit like the shit she was looking for. Maybe. With her shaking hands, she stood from her knees with little trouble, feeling a little sore having been kneeling. She raised her thumb to calm herself, nervously brushing it against her lower lip, tracing the outer edge while thinking. Maybe if she just took a handful, nobody would notice.

As she did this, outside of Kong, a figure sat on a motorcycle, the view of their face obscured as they stared at the building before revving the engine and heading down the road. The streetlights began to flicker as a woman appeared on the side of the road opposite to the one the motorcycle had been near, her features sharp and her black hair all the way down to her waist. She looked like she was into metal, a heavy eyeliner coating her eyes and red lipstick smeared on her lips. 

Her tits were pushed up by her black corset, flesh almost popping out. Her ass was shapely, her hips wide. Somehow, her hair was perfectly straight; if someone saw her, anyone could possibly accuse her of spending hours caring for it in the bathroom in the morning. Maybe it was true, maybe it wasn't. 

Her name? Jasmine. Her blue eyes sparkled like sapphires; this drop dead beauty was definitely someone to watch out for. Her heels clicked across the pavement as she pulled a cigarette from in between her tits and opened the small lighter around her neck that hung from a chain, quickly lighting it. 

She took a drag, continuing her little journey across the road as she blew out smoke, her stride confident. If there were any men on the road they would've certainly turned their heads. Flicking the ash off her cig, she took another puff before blowing an 'o' of smoke upwards, staring at the clouds. 

Another drag and she dropped her cigarette to the floor, making sure to grind it under the toe of her boot to put it out. A cross glinted on her neck, a little something she didn't believe in but made those hardcore religious screw heads leave her alone. She took a deep breath, preparing herself for the long trek up the seemingly neverending hill of Kong.

By the time Rose had made it up the stairs, still conflicted on whether or not to just steal the fucking pills and be done with it, the doorbell rang again. She almost let out a string of curses but was secretly relieved that she'd been stopped from doing something she may regret. Maybe that made her a pussy, just like maybe how fucking Muds made her a whore.

Rose yanked the glass doors open, the same sounds of rain echoing through Kong's halls. Before her stood an intimidating looking woman, who seemed to be at least around her mid-twenties, if not older. The woman had a hand on her hip and black hair that reminded her of the feathers of a raven.

Before Rose could say anything, her face was in the older woman's cleavage as the arms wrapped around her. "You're Rose Badling, right? Gosh, I've only seen you in pictures." She didn't have a British accent. "I'm Jasmine Adler, hun. Your older sister." Wait, Rose had an older sister? She wormed her way out of the strange woman's grasp, backing up to look her over again. Her expression must've looked lost because the girl laughed. "Guess I've got a lot to explain, huh? Well, I've got plenty of time. It's just..." Jasmine took a deep breath, covering her mouth with a hand. Tears threatened to spill from the corner of her eyes as she took a step back and really took in the sight of Rose. "God, I've been so excited to meet you. When our dad left my mom for yours, it really fucking sucked. Oh! I shouldn't swear in front of you, should I? That wouldn't be a good example of me." 

Rose was still speechless, sure her mouth was hanging wide open. She had a sister? A half-sister? Since when? How did she grow up without knowing about her? Did her mother know about this, too? Why did nobody tell her? There were more questions than there were answers. She still couldn't speak as Jasmine walked past her with that supermodel pose of hers, that amazing body and style. Rose was actually quite a bit envious; how did she get that lucky and that sexy, while Rose looked like a malnourished piece of broken shit? 

It was unfair that the sexy genes skipped a generation.

She was a little nervous, a lot self-conscious. Fuck, even her hair looked better than Rose's. Maybe it was bad to be jealous of her; but how could Rose not be? "How did you find me?" Rose asked, her brows knitting into confusion.

"Private investigator, hun. I was looking for dad, but instead, I found you." Rose wanted to ask so many questions all at once; a little bit of happiness flooded her heart as her sister warmly took her hands and just stared into her eyes. Rose swore she saw a tear drip down the girl's cheek. 

"Why didn't you approach me before?" 

The girl stopped, her smile turning to a frown. "I'm sorry, hun. It was too dangerous. When you disappeared I got worried, but let's just say that I paid a hell of a lot of extra to find you again. And now, finally... I get to meet my baby sister." Another shuddering breath and Rose was almost positive she was crying about; she could barely believe it, someone, who actually cared if she was dead or alive. "We've got so much to catch up on."

Hell yes they did. Rose wanted to know as much as possible. She wasn't about to leave her sister hanging out in the rain. "Come on in." The girl nodded and Rose could barely contain her excitement. 

As Rose closed the door behind them, Nick stepped out of the alley close to where the girl had been standing, pure hatred on his face. He gripped the gun tightly, but he knew he couldn't get her yet. Jasmine doing that fucked up his plans a little bit; he'd thought she'd always watch from a distance. 

Something he hated doing. He wanted her dead now. If Jasmine was getting in the way, there was more than one bullet he could spare.


	31. Phase One, Chapter Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is Death Wish, by Terror Jr.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS-Dv2t201E

Rose sat in the kitchen with Jasmine, having put on some tea. She didn't really know how to act what with just learning that she had an older half-sister. It was a little shocking. A lot shocking. It seemed like Jasmine didn't know what to say, either. Her fingernails painted black, tapped against the counter to an invisible rhythm before she took a deep breath. "Rose. I know how our dad is and I was wondering if..."

"Why is he so fucked up?" Rose wanted answers to her questions. She was ashamed of all the things he made her do. Scarred, even. If Jasmine had those answers it would clear up so much Rose didn't know. The tapping stopped and Jasmine was quiet as she replied.

"Rose, before dad lost it... he was a different kind of bad. I haven't told anyone else this, not in my entire life. One night, he was fucked up pretty bad. Having some sort of mental breakdown from PTSD. He came into my room and..." She sighed, deeply. "It should have stopped then and there but he took more comfort in slipping into his eldest daughter's room rather than his wife's." Her hands strayed to her forehand as her palms slid up her face, rubbing at her eyes. Rose's hand awkwardly strayed to touch her shoulder. She didn't know how to comfort Jasmine; maybe she didn't like being touched. All she could do was try.

"Jasmine... I'm sorry."

Her sister's piercing blue eyes met her own. A sad smile stretched across her face. "If only apologizing actually did something. It seems that all people can say when another person meets misfortune is 'I'm sorry'." Rose's hand slid off of Jasmine's shoulder. "Relax, Rose. I came to terms with what happened years ago already. I'm twenty-seven. It's been many years since I've seen his face. Also, call me Jas. All my friends do. And speaking positively, because of his nightly activities he never really hurt me in any way. Not like he did mom and Reira."

"Who's Reira?" Rose asked, wondering who else their father could possibly have dragged into his torment. From the sound of it, Rose wasn't the only person to suffer by his hand.

"Our dog." Jas replied, waving her hand passively. "She's long gone, so I've had a while to get over it." As the kettle finally whistled, Rose took it off the stove that seemingly had a new coat of grime over it despite Rose's obsessive cleaning patterns.

Rose saw how different she and Jasmine were; she'd never wear those types of clothing and it was clear their levels of strength differed. To be touched by that fuck, more than once. A shiver ran down her spine; again, that little voice resounded in the back of her head.

_'Thank god that didn't happen to me.'_

But it did, didn't it? Even if it wasn't her dad, it still happened. But something about it being Nick was so much worse than it being Murdoc. Maybe it was because of the abuse, but if he'd ever touched her like that she wouldn't be able to handle it. How Jas wasn't worse off than her, she didn't know.

She poured the hot water into two cups, gently lowering tea bags into each. Rose placed one in front of Jas and reached towards the cupboard, standing on her tippy toes to grab the sugar. The jar toppled over and she covered her face quickly as it smashed against her one good arm, sugar raining down over her and a shard of glass sticking itself into her arm. "Fuck!" Rose snapped, the pain causing her to hiss under her breath. Jas, who was beside her, took a step back. She seemingly remained silent as a sugar-covered Rose examined the damage on her arm, still in a shitload of pain but upset that her only good arm was now suffering heavy damage.

"Sorry, I would've caught it if I saw it coming." Jasmine murmured, making no move to find anything. Then again, Rose couldn't expect her to jump to some sort of care. Jasmine somewhat reminded her of Noodle in independence. However, she sounded a little too calm; Rose was still a little angry that she didn't even try to stop it, didn't even sound worried. She took a deep breath, her emotions running a little high; she felt a shitload of emotions, what with finding her sister, learning what she did. Hell, she didn't blame Jas for having slow reactions. Her mind was barely processing it herself but her hair was literally sparkling with sugar.

As she walked into the supplies closet to retrieve the first-aid kit, Murdoc walked into the room. He was in a foul mood because of Rose's sudden departure; a part of him wanted to try some form of punishment to keep her from walking away while he was trying to speak to her. Teach her respect. His eyes came to rest on a buxom, sexy load of a woman. Her hourglass figure was thin, but not too thin; her hips were curvy enough to make blood rush to his cock. He almost thought he was drooling over her; his eyes strayed to her tits, nice and popped out for him.

Her eyes met his and he licked his lips with his abnormally long tongue. However, much to his surprise, the lady walked up to him, straight up to him. There was a glint of something in her eyes and his smile faded; the blood in his veins ran ice cold. His face turned pale as Rose exited the supply closet, first aid kit in hand. He didn't notice the wound on her arm let alone the sparkling sugar in her hair. "Murdoc? God, _please_ tell me you're not trying to get with her."

His boner was gone as he turned out of the room, breaking into a cold sweat. He just knew he had to get the fuck out of there. There was no fucking way you'd find him in a room with that bitch alone. He'd seen it in prison as an occupational jailbird and he never wanted to see it again. Even if he did bad shit, he still had a conscious. He did have limits, despite people's beliefs.

His hand rested against the wall, his breathing heavy. It felt like he was having a panic attack; fuck, shit like this made him feel vulnerable. He only hoped that whoever she was, she wouldn't be coming around again. For Rose's sake, too, he hoped she'd see what he saw.

"Relax, sister. I'm not that into men." She smiled, sliding a finger down her cross delicately.

"You're... into _god_?" Rose's eyebrow rose, her disbelief staggering. She didn't know if she could get along with someone who was so into god they couldn't even see a man as a man. However, Jasmine threw her head back and laughed.

"No, hun, I'm into women."

Rose's face twisted into a clear expression of shock. She knew there were girls out there like that who were into other girls, but Rose had never really acknowledged that. In fact, she forgot that it existed. Rose guessed until now she just saw everyone as straight, just like she was. She had a lesbian half-sister who she'd never met until now that looked like a teenager going through a phase.

Admittedly, she looked really good. Rose was only bitter because her looks made her jealous. Maybe she said something to Murdoc that pissed him off so he stormed out. She set the first-aid kit on the table and pulled the shard of glass out. It clattered onto the table as she opened it up, the blood streaming down her arm. She was so used to seeing it by now that she barely panicked as she wrapped it in gauze, something that they'd stocked up on and for good reason.

Within the time that it took, Rose had patched her arm up and Jas had swept whatever sugar there was left on the table into her tea, mixing it with milk and drinking it. She placed the empty cup down, checking her watch. "Look, hun, I need to head out. How about I drop by around three thirty tomorrow?" Rose nodded, staring at Jas's back as she walked out of the kitchen door without another word before even finishing her sentence. It was strange; a small, happy feeling stirred in Rose's heart. Finally, someone to love her.

They'd grow into it, right?

Jas, walking back across the street having left Kong and exiting the graveyard, lit another cigarette.

"Those will kill you, you know." Nick said, his back against the wall. His gaze was hard as he bore it into Jas. She chuckled softly, not intimidated by him whatsoever as she took a couple steps towards him before planting a kiss on his chin, the stubble brushing across her lips.

"Daddy, are you getting worried about me?"

"Are you going to get in my way?"

"Oh, it makes me so wet when you worry." His eyebrow rose as her lips grazed his own, her nails running up his muscled chest over the fabric of his tank top. This was his fucked up child for sure; gave her some once and she never stopped crawling back into his bedroom for it. She'd seduced him, like the little fucking devil she was. There was only one thing Jasmine wanted and that was for daddy to love her like she was mommy. "Don't worry, daddy. I told her that you did such mean things to me. She believed me, like a good little girl." His eyes strayed to Kong. A gun was shoved into the back of his jeans. He growled; he could just break in and be done with it. Jasmine seemed to read his mind because small shushes left her lips as she patted his cheek with love. "Be patient. We're already in. She'll be dead just like you wanted, Daddy."

Nick's hand shot to Jasmine's throat, pinning her to the wall. She grabbed at her throat, trying to peel his fingers off. "You think we're fucking done here yet? Why the fuck didn't you kill Reira when I told you to? She'll be a problem."

"Daddy... relax.." Jasmine could barely breathe, the air in her lungs running out fast. "It was... a mistake... I'll fix it..." Her legs twisted and hung in the air as she felt her consciousness fade. Just before she lost it, Nick dropped her. She fell to the ground and laughed, the echoes bouncing across the empty air. "Reira.." She rubbed her neck. "I'll make her believe I'm the good one, daddy! When you're about to kill her and I come in to save her, she'll never expect it." There was crazy in her eyes. "Just please, Daddy, let me sleep in the same bed as you! You know I'll do _anything_!"

Nick began to walk away and Jas jumped up, following him like a good little puppy.

What did this mean for Rose? She didn't know. Nobody knew and only Murdoc, who knew the eyes of a merciless killer, could detect anything from her. What would happen next?! Will Jasmine get her way?

And who is Reira?!

 

 


	32. Phase One, Chapter Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to leave this comment here. Some people are upset because I get upset when they post a negative opinion. It's not your opinion that upsets me, it's how you say it. If you could just act nice, from one human to another, rather than invading my comment sections attacking everything in sight with swears and more, then I'll respond to you nicely. In the last chapter, in the comments, I wrote ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED words of a reply. This is a part of that reply and I feel like if I share it with you you will understand both Rose, the story and the realism more. Maybe it's not your reality. Maybe you never lived through it or your suffering can't compare. Admittedly, some things are overdramatized, such as Nick. It's a Gorillaz plot, you have to remember that- There's demons, ghosts and pirates. I can't be realistic with the plot, but with the people, yes, I can.
> 
> Please remember to be respectful in the comments and try your best not to express how upset you are, alright? And if you have to, PLEASE do not take your anger out on me. Maybe sharing this will help you understand why this book is this way. Here's my reply.
> 
> "I wasn't going to bring this up... but as for realistic... many people lash out at this because they're afraid of it.  
> They know that the dangers of this book can happen to anyone.
> 
> Frankly, most of it happened to me.
> 
> I know that it sounds crazy, no I did not get beaten down by a cartoon character in a dark forest.  
> When I was nine, my mom married the perfect man. But he changed. He began to hurt and do things to me that I don't like to talk about. One day, he snapped. He tried to do something beyond hurting me and I couldn't take it anymore. I was eleven and a half when I jumped out of a moving car on the highway, thinking that as long as it was over i didn't care how I went. I just wanted out, fuck. I was nothing more than a kid. I ended up in the hospital, in foster care. Got out a year later but my newfound freedom was destroyed by him as police came to the school to pick me up. *He claimed I was deranged, psycho. That I was the one attacking him and I 'threatened the life of my little sister.' How FUCKED is that?* They dropped me back in foster care and that was when the bullying began, because I was stuck back there. There was this other kid living there, too. He was fucked up in his own way. He liked to kill shit. Shit that couldn't fight back. He threatened to rape me. I couldn't fucking sleep at night. He forced me to do things and I couldn't fight back or tell ANYONE because I was ashamed. Note that I was absolutely fucking depressed. I was nine fucking years old when my life turned to shit, and because of those events I've never been able to escape it.
> 
> I have cuts on my arms from trying to escape. I almost got into alcohol and drugs because they fixed it. They made my mind hurt less. The buzzing sound was gone and the headaches disappeared. I just wanted to get rid of the pain and I had nowhere to go because my mother is a fucking uppity bitch. I am so in my own world and I can't escape, I can't trust people. Those events CHANGED the course of my life FOREVER.
> 
> It just got worse as I got into high school. I thought things would be different. I was living with my aunt now, things would be okay.  
> I was wrong. So fucking wrong.
> 
> I met a group of girls and finally thought I belonged but they treated me like a fucking dog. Getting me to fetch shit for them, tripping me, making fun of me. They literally DESTROYED any chance of being social I had by ruining my reputation; I was forced to literally LEAVE TOWN. It was THAT BAD. I had to GO BACK TO MY MOTHER.
> 
> Now I wouldn't hate her so much if she'd had done something, ANYTHING, OTHER THAN WATCH THAT FUCKING BASTARD HURT ME. She could've called the cops. She didn't even have the balls to comfort or touch me, lmao. You wanna know how the abuse all starteD? I got in between him and my mother, took a hit for her. She was my idol then. She was my everything but she fucking abandoned me and left me to his hands.
> 
> So much more has happened. I won't go into detail, but it just got worse. Life for me is ENDLESS SUFFERING. Sometimes, I think I'm already dead and in hell and repeating my life over and over. I'm sorry. I get really emotional over this topic; none of that swearing was directed at you."
> 
>  
> 
> Song is "Who Knew" by Pink.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SKEp-H0Eqs

2-D was showing Charla around Kong Studios. It was pretty clear that his explanation was a little confusing to Charla, but she didn't seem to mind. Part of her was possibly just feeling like she was floating at the moment. It'd been so long.

Her fingers were intertwined with Stu's, a small blush spreading across her face. It felt good. With a little squeeze, the warmth of his hand was even more noticeable. However, that warmth was ripped away as a very distressed, half-naked man tore between them. Charla, confused, turned to see who'd done so as Stu flinched away from the strange shirtless man. He turned back and the look on his face was nothing more than fear. His eyes sized up Charla and she felt like he was invading her privacy. What she noticed even further, though, was that his skin was a sickly shade of green; her first thought was to get him to a hospital.

He made a grunting noise and backed away a little, staring behind Charla. She turned her head to where the man was looking and their blue haired companion's mouth almost unhinged from his jaw. A beautiful, gothic hell of a lot of a woman was walking by, her stilettos clicking against the unwashed floor. She didn't stop to speak, but her gaze strayed to Charla and it was almost slow motion as Jasmine's eyes scanned up the poor girl. Her tongue slowly slid across her lips as her sapphire colored eyes pinned her to the spot. 

Charla felt like she was being hunted, ravaged worse than she had when the sickly looking man had undressed her with his eyes. The feeling made her tremble. She didn't know whether to be aroused or scared, but she couldn't move her eyes or her limbs. All she could do was painfully count the seconds as Jas passed by.

The tap of her stilettos stopped. Her pupils flashed to the corner of her eyes, the most deliciously sick smile twisting on her face. Although nobody could see her expression, the tension in the air was unmistakable. Jas let out a hot breath. "I'd tie that to a bed, pour some Chardonnay, scatter rose petals on the covers and eat that." Her gaze was purely primal as she whispered to herself. She wanted to make that girl scream her name, but unfortunately now was not the time for that. Jas took a moment to recollect herself, putting her game face back on and hiding her lust as she turned around the edge of the railing and walked down the stairs, smiling and winking. She still had her mind on the girl; Jas would have her way with that, one way or another.

The tap of the shoes faded into the distance and the heavy weight in the hallway was released all at once. Charla kneeled to the ground, sighing at the same time as Murdoc fell back against the wall, a deep groan of relief coming from his throat. 2-D simply glanced between them. He'd felt it but he almost forgot he'd felt it. 

Meanwhile, Charla was less than pleased with the pickle man. She stood up quickly, rage overtaking her, blood boiling. "Hey, who the hell do you think you are?" She snapped, stomping her foot down for extra intimidation value. Not that it worked on Murdoc, who only shrugged, grunting. He tried to walk past her, but she got in his way. His gaze instantly turned hardened.

"I'll give you one chance to get your fat ass out of my way, love."Charla's anger bubbled up to the surface and she took a swing, her fist connecting with his jaw, pushing him backward a little bit. Murdoc, surprised, brought his fingers to his chin before glancing back at Charla, his eyes narrowing. "On second thought, fat ass, I'll help you with that." He swung at her, his fist connecting with her stomach.

Charla staggered backward, heavily winded from his hit; she hadn't expected him to hit that hard. 2-D pressed his back against the wall, nervous, unsure of what to do. How to help. Maybe he should just stay here and wait it out. Murdoc's fingers tangled into her hair as he gave her no chance to recover, pulling her forwards and letting go, causing Charla to fall and skid across the floor. She struggled to her feet, still going strong.

"If you wanted me to give your ass a pounding, all you had to do was ask, love." Charla almost retched at the thought; now that she was in close proximity to him, she could smell his stench and there was no way in hell she would ever stoop to those lows. Her hatred grew for him as she charged forwards. It was a struggle, Murdoc on the defense holding both of Charla's hands in his as both pushed against one another, trying to push the other over in an attempt t lay the next hit. Charla saw her chance and her foot shot out, tripping Murdoc. What she didn't account for was him gripping her hands tightly, pulling her down. In an instant, his arm was around her neck in a chokehold. Her air supply was cut off and she tried to struggle but unfortunately, Murdoc's grip was as strong as iron and she could feel her vision slipping. Fuck! Not to this creep!

She suddenly felt the pressure release, her head spinning as she sucked in air trying to make sense of the situation. Soft hands were on her face, her confusion spiraling. She looked into a pair of blue-green eyes and her senses came to her. "Murdoc, what the fuck?" 

"She started it, love. What's with you today? What's going on with all the sugar? Is your arm bleeding?" 

Charla felt something left on her face from the girl's prodding hands and she let her tongue run along the edge of her mouth; sweet. It was sugar. Her senses were coming back to her, faster now and she felt the pain of Murdoc's hits. But, her thoughts became clearer; this was Murdoc? "You're the fuck who called me? Fucking asshole!" She spat. 

Murdoc's face twisted into surprise, but it surely became a grin. "So this is the famous Charla, eh? Should've told me about her arse. Would've been quite lovely to pound someone with so much to grab." Charla paled as she scrambled to her feet, apprehensive. Her hatred burned red hot, but the girl stepped in between her and Murdoc quickly, flinching as they both tried to take action. Murdoc lowered his fist after clearly MUCH deliberation, very much unwilling. He simply growled lowly at Rose and began to walk away. Rose watched as he stalked away and her worry grew as she and 2-D exchanged passive glances. She still hadn't forgiven him, but a drunken, angry Murdoc was the last thing they wanted or needed. 

"Sorry," Rose began, trying to search for some way to apologize to the poor girl. From what she had seen of the fight, though, as the noises had summoned her out of the kitchen, Charla could hold her own for a little while. "I'm Rose. Are you alright?" Rose couldn't remain jealous or angry with this poor thing for long. Maybe a little bit of jealousy remained, but she couldn't let that get in the way of helping the girl. Not after what she'd just gone through. 

"Charla. Yeah, hurts like a bitch, but I'll be fine." 

The two girls smiled at one another as Rose helped Charla up. Stuart was still pressed against the wall, but he managed to peel himself off with a weak smile. "Sorry. Muds is usually like that." 

Was this the beginning of a friendship, or a curse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Life BROKE me. I was such a happy child. I want those days back. I miss them. The innocent days. The world is a FUCKED place and I hate it. It's been unfair to me. It's STILL being unfair to me. So, you ask why Rose hasn't broken yet? Because people CAN live through this, if they close their eyes and dream of something better, always hoping tomorrow will be better than today. But then they realize, no, tomorrow won't be better.
> 
> And that's when you break. When your hope is gone. When your will to live is gone.


	33. Phase One, Chapter Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h--P8HzYZ74  
> Stay - Alessia Cara

With the tinkling of wind chimes that Noodle had set up outside of her room's balcony, the night air breezing through Rose's hair, she took a deep breath. Today had been something, for sure. What sort of something? She honestly didn't know. On a plastic chair that she'd dragged out of Kong's kitchen she sat on the ledge of the drop near the driveway; her eyes scanned the stars and she took a deep breath. It'd been so long since Rose had tried to gaze at the stars.

Back home, in America... Well, America wasn't her home anymore. She was positive that she'd never return home; in fact, it was almost impossible, what with police probably still on the look-out for her. Even though it'd been quite a while, she wouldn't take the risk of walking into an airport. Besides, she only had ten thousand dollars saved up from a year of work. Hard, but rewarding, work.

They twinkled, so far above her and Rose wondered; did they look down on the people below? Did the stars laugh at humans? Their pain? No. Her hands gripped the mug of tea tightly, warming them and protecting them from the slight breeze. The stars were not cruel. They shone. Rose believed that the stars guided the way in a dark night, just like a little light in a dark room. Would Rose be able to find her way out of the dark room she'd found herself entrapped in? She sighed. The spaghetti strap of her tank top slid down her arm and she snapped it back up, wincing at the snapback.

Rose barely heard Murdoc approach, holding another one of those plastic chairs. She jumped as he put it down beside hers before sitting his ass down, a cold beer in one hand. He cracked it open, the signature sound of the air hissing out of the can filling the silence between them. With a few slurps, Murdoc was probably halfway through that can already. However, he put it down, leaning back, saying nothing, just staring at the stars. Not even a dirty joke, a request for sex, or some sort of insulting comment.

Rose awkwardly shifted in her chair, waiting for some sort of verbal abuse, maybe for him to yell at her for stopping that fight between him and Charla. Charla was a kind girl, one that was more than co-operative when it came to tending her wounds. Unlike some people. Her pupils dashed towards Murdoc. Sizing up his features. His crooked nose, his multicolored eyes. She didn't understand why they were two different colors; in fact, she'd barely noticed it. Maybe she was focusing too much on Murdoc being on top of her to really appreciate what he looked like.

He had a bit of a stubble. It was clear he hadn't shaved. Maybe he hadn't even showered. There was a stain on his pants that Rose didn't want to know the origins of. His lips were chapped, definitely, but it added to what she saw as his rough charm. This was her savior. The person who kept inflicting pain, yet just when she gives up on life, he comes rushing around the corner like some ironic hero. Rose wasn't really sure how to feel about that.

"It's rude to stare, love. You gonna tell me what's on your mind or you gonna sit there like a dead fish?" It almost broke her out of her stupor, but not quite. His eyes rested on her, his head turned, full attention all for her. Rose didn't know what to say or do. Maybe it was time to talk to him. Maybe there could be some sort of communication. She didn't know how she felt about him. Things just happened to get worse because of him, but when he was there, they were better. But this, this wasn't Murdoc. Why was he sitting on the lawn instead of being inside playing darts? Or trying to incite sex? Or causing trouble for the inhabitants of Kong? "I'll take that as a no." He took another quick chug of the beer can. Rose swore she could hear the swishing liquid as he pulled it away from his lips.

"Murdoc."

His eyes strayed to her, his face illuminated by moonlight, the lights of the studio shining on his back. There was a certain familiarity in his eyes; one that she placed as seriousness. It was a meloncholy look, one that Murdoc usually didn't have. He seemed troubled. "Hn?" It was a mere grunt, but it made her nervous. What was she going to say? He leaned towards her, not close enough to touch, but as if he were trying to hear her better. Her breath hissed between her teeth, her shoulders tensing.

"You... you were my first."

He drew back, his face seemingly coated in surprise. He simply chuckled, another swig of his drink down the hatch. Murdoc paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, love, I don't think I am. This some kind of prank?"

Rose couldn't think of any way to say it without breaking down. Her chest heaved as she began to cry. Murdoc stared at her, his mouth falling slightly open. He was unsure of how to deal with this; he wasn't exactly known for his emotional comfort values. Rose, however, felt like she meant nothing. Not even her rapist remembered that he'd done such a horrible thing to her and it felt terrible. She had to get the words out now. No matter how much they hurt. "Murdoc... you... you hurt me. You were drunk and I... someone..you brought me to the Winnebago and..." She was almost certain she was making no sense with her incessant babbling. It hurt to acknowledge it. She didn't know why she chose now, of all times, to confront what had happened to her. She thought she was okay with forgetting.

Murdoc had put together two and two from her words. He knew exactly what he'd done. He wished he could say that she was the first he'd done that to. He couldn't. For some reason, he regretted what he'd done. His face rested in his hands as he rubbed it, unsure of what to do. How to take it. How to react. He stood.

Rose didn't know what to do. What he'd do. Her fear raced through her blood like it was a physical, unstoppable liquid. Her lips parted. She felt like she might piss herself as he got crouched, one of his fingers brushing the hair out of her face. She couldn't look anywhere else. His eyes were there, in front of her and a part of her was memorized by it. He was gentle, his hand slowly trailing down her face. "The stairs didn't do that to you, did they?" He was referring to her excuse from back then.

She considered not answering him. But would silence make any of this any less painful? "No. They didn't."

A long sigh emanated from his lips. "I'm a fucking ponce." He wouldn't stop touching her. She didn't know how he wanted her to react. A part of her wanted to kiss him. A part of her was screaming it was crazy. How would he take it? God, she never had these problems in 2-D's arms. Her lips softly pressed against his. Her fear was as high it would get. There was no coming back from this. Whatever she'd just done, she couldn't take it back.

He wasn't moving. Wasn't speaking. She swore he was holding his breath. Murdoc wondered why he just didn't tell her to pack her shit and leave like the last assistant. He should. Nothing good could come out of this girl touching him. Making him feel different than he should. But then, a part of him was absolutely turned on. Not that he'd tell her that.

Those wounds. His bite marks. He wanted to hurt her more. Show 2-D that he couldn't have her. That the bitch would come back to him no matter how much she suffered. And he would. But tonight, not so much. His hand raised to her chin, his lips moving against hers as he tried to stand up and pull away. Rose was hungry for more, both of her hands on either side of his face. She wanted to drown in this feeling; the feeling of fireworks. Nothing good would come of her being like this with Murdoc, she knew that, but something inside her wanted so desperately to continue. Maybe it wasn't love. Maybe it wasn't even like. She had plenty of time to find it out.

Fuck, why did she want him so badly? A part of her hated him. A part of her idolized him. She must be fucked in the head. The only answer. Murdoc was like a knight in shining armor to her, saving her like he did. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her close, his right hand straying up her back.

Tonight, both of them thought, just tonight would be fine. Just to stay like this for a moment more couldn't hurt.

Wrong.

It made all the difference in damage.


	34. Phase One, Chapter Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song for this chapter is 'Most Girls' by Hailee Steinfeld.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBB_QOZNEdc
> 
> AS for those who both give kudos, leave comments... especially the readers of Break Me, thank you so much for your continued support! I wouldn't be able to do it without you. Sorry for the long note!
> 
> BREAK ME NOW HAS A SPOTIFY PLAYLIST THAT IS CONSTANTLY GROWING! IF YOU WISH TO LISTEN TO MUSIC LIKE IN THE CHAPTERS, CLICK THIS LINK!  
> https://open.spotify.com/user/mercurite/playlist/5aCApQTU4ShVzBGYcHwn8u

Rose woke to the feel of a draft; the events of last night in her mind. It made something in her chest twist. What the fuck had she done that for? What was she doing? But now Murdoc knew.

He hadn't been any kind of angry, which had shocked Rose. A part of it made her heart swell like a balloon. A very delicate balloon that could pop at any moment. Her free hand strayed across her sheets as she turned over, staring at the wall, her fingers running through the folds of her blanket. Her eyes rested on a particularly comfortable spot of the wall, where a bit of wallpaper was peeling off. Her eyes relaxed. It was softer to look at than other areas for some reason; her eyes didn't water.

Her door swung open hitting the wall behind it and Rose jumped, surprised, falling backward off her bed while trying to move in one direction while panicking in the other. She landed right on her broken arm, causing her to wince, letting out a moan of pain. As she rolled on the floor, she dared to glare at the one who was responsible; Murdoc. He wore the gray shirt he had the night she'd first slept with him. She recognized the belt. How could she forget? God, between her hand, her bruises, her arm and her rib she didn't think she could possibly take any more damage. They stared at each other for a second, Murdoc's hand resting on the doorknob.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Rose snapped, less than pleased with his unwelcomed entry. He let out a breathy sigh as he rolled his eyes, walking straight into her room to help her up. Of course, he'd pull on her broken arm, causing, even more, pain than necessary. But, at least he was helping her in some way.

Murdoc held onto her. "My Studio. I can walk into whatever room I please, love." This time, it was Rose's turn to roll her eyes as she slid her arm out of his hand. The memories of last night were possibly fresh in both of their minds and they knew something had changed between them. The question is, what? It was almost undetectable for Murdoc. Rose felt something weird inside her.

Neither wanted to prolong contact, but at the same time, they sort of wanted to touch each other. Maybe he could walk into whatever room he could please, but he sure as hell couldn't express himself. "What do you need, Murdoc?" Rose was fed up; she didn't want to deal with this as early as she was. He seemed to search for the answer for a moment, his frown permanently etched onto his face. Rose knew that it wasn't that hard for anyone to think, not even 2-D. Her fear rose; was she being fired?

No, he wouldn't. Would he? His expression told her nothing. God, where would she go? Maybe he thought she'd be a problem. More of a problem. Maybe he didn't want to deal with her father-

He opened his mouth again and nothing came out. Rose was starting to regret not even pricking him with the scissors, just a little bit, as she hated being kept in the dark. She wanted answers, god damn it! It was early and she'd just woke up! Her rage pooled inside her and she could barely handle it. "I was wondering, love, if you'd want to get the gang together tonight and see a movie. I mean, 2-D had this new movie he wanted to watch, so I don't really want to sit with the face ache alone. Beyond that, it may be boring, so I'd need a bit of entertainment."

Rose raised an eyebrow. How hard was it to ask someone if they wanted to see a movie? And what was with the long explanation? For fuck sakes, he could've just said it. Rose sighed, her bad mood putting a damper on her day. She rubbed her face before nodding, trying her best to wake up. He awkwardly let out a small nod before slowly backing out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Rose knew the man was a Satanist, but did he have to act this fucking weird? She shivered; what was wrong with her today?

As she got out of bed, opening up her closet to find blue jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt she realized that it wasn't what she usually wore. But for some reason, she couldn't find herself liking her previous outfits. She wanted something new. Her flip flops were by her door, which she slipped on as per usual.

The pit-pat of her feet on the carpet seemed to wake Jason, who opened the door, bags under his eyes. Rose jumped, their eyes locking onto one another. "What the fuck are you doing, bitch?"

Rose's shock was too much to register what he had said. But in a moment, Jason was walking towards her. Rose felt it rise in her throat but she did nothing; it was like projectile bile as her puke ended up all over Jason, who looked down at himself, eyes wide. His eyes snapped up to her and Rose knew that she should probably run.

Dashing down the hallway with a head start, she felt the need to laugh wildly, not believing that she had just thrown up on that guy. He ran after her, his anger reaching peak levels while hearing Rose laugh.

Rose turned the corner, slamming straight into Russel. Her butt hit the floor and Jason slid around the corner, hitting the window with his terrible motor skills. He regained control over himself, picking himself up off the floor and heading towards Rose. His hands were balled into fists. He was looking to start a fight.

However, Russel stepped in between Jason and Rose. Seeing this huge man towering over him, Jason stopped dead in his tracks. His fear was clear; he began to back away. He knew he couldn't win this fight, not with Russel there.

Rose, who basically had no idea she'd started a fight, peeked out from behind Russel, still seated on the floor.

"This isn't over," Jason muttered, his glare directed at Rose, who wasn't quite listening. She was staring at Russel, who never quite had done anything like that before. He offered her a steady hand which she gladly took in the act of getting up. Russel brushed past her, not saying a word, not even letting her thank him. Ugh, her mouth tasted like bile. What the hell was wrong with her? It was like a mere second of sickness, a strange moment of joy.

And a completely crazy sight of her running down the hall while simultaneously laughing her ass off. Her palm rested against the glass as she caught her breath, her eyes straying to the 'backyard' of Kong Studios. It was a bit of a drop, but there was a wide patch of land just perfect for... her breath caught in the back of her throat as she had the strange urge to do something absolutely crazy.

2-D and the others possibly weren't expecting her until later, so she assumed it would be fine to go off and do her own thing for a while. However, she knew she couldn't do it alone. Rose was feeling spontaneous, fresh, happy. For once in her life it was like starlight filled her heart; warm, pure, beautiful. Rose felt like she could actually do something and succeed. Her eyes strayed to a certain someone, wandering down the hall, taking in the sight of Kong. Rose wiped the puke from the corners of her mouth, slightly disgusted at the fact she'd projectile vomited. Still, she hoped she looked at least a bit presentable.

As the corner of her mouth twisted into a smile, she'd wave towards the girl with the beautiful physique; Rose almost envied her. The difference between their body shapes were staggering. She was thin as a stick compared to the curvy Charla. However, she stood tall, proudly, as the girl confusedly waved back. "Charla. Do you like plants?"

Charla, who felt a little put on the spot by Rose's seemingly ecstatic mood, twirled a lock of her hair in between her fingers. She paused for a moment, shifting her weight to her left leg. "Yep. I love them! Seeing something grow up and the idea that I helped it get that way, well. I love the beauty of that!" Seeing Charla beam, having looked a little nervous at first. Rose knew she'd found the right person to go to for help.

"Let's go, right now." Rose's hand was in Charla's as she pulled her forwards, leaving no mercy for the poor, surprised girl's arm. She didn't expect to be breaking straight out into a run this morning, so she'd worn a particularly short skirt.

Charla tried to pull back, but Rose wasn't having it. They were off down the halls of Kong. "We're going to a tool store. Home Depot, I think it's called. We're going to buy a bunch of equipment and tools and we are going to build a greenhouse." Charla almost laughed; this was so spontaneous and random, but also a beautiful idea. She had to say she couldn't necessarily, or want to, refuse.

Rose felt like she was above the clouds; even if she'd been pissed at Murdoc, something about telling him set a part of her free. A part she didn't think could ever be free again. And the kiss, God, the kiss! They'd just sat there and stared at the stars. Rose came to notice the slight shaking of her hand, but she steadied it. The feeling of a gnawing pressure was slowly fading into existence, a slight reminder of the growing addiction inside her. For today, just for today, she'd put everything behind her. Today, she was a normal girl, going out to do a slightly normal thing.

The addiction, the solution to finding the drugs she was so desperately searching for, 2-D, Murdoc, her father, all of it. Not today! Just for one day. There was nothing on her shoulders.

Charla took a breath, not sure where this road would lead her. Surely, she'd been thinking of only staying a week. But perhaps, just maybe, she'd stay. She'd at least help build that greenhouse. How hard could it be?

~

Standing in the middle of the Depot, neither of the girls knew where to go, what to do or where to start. Rose, spotting a boy who sported an orange vest that labeled him as a worker stacking boxes, began to walk in his direction. His skin was a lovely bronze, his black curls accenting his short hair perfectly. By how tanned he was, Rose was sure that he spent a lot of time outside. "Hi, I'm Rose." She started, unsure how exactly to ask her barrage of questions. Maybe she should've prepared better before deciding to start a project like that.

He turned to her, but there wasn't a smile on his face. More of a look of utmost confusion as he glanced between Rose and Charla. "Name's Lucius." He didn't seem too interested in answering them. A typical seventeen-year-old boy.

"Um, well, Lucius," Rose took a breath, trying to word her question properly in her mind. Should she be direct, or spell it out for him? In the end, she went with the most basic step. "Do you know how to build a greenhouse?" He raised an eyebrow towards her before sighing and putting down one of the boxes he held. Making a 'come here' motion, he led them to an aisle with manuals stacked on a rack with build-it-yourself tips.

"Any other questions?" Lucius muttered, clearly displeased having been interrupted. As Rose opened one of the greenhouse manuals to a random page, selecting a wood greenhouse to build. Lucius scowled as he snatched away the manual, making sure to put his thumb in between the pages to keep it on the right page. "Clearly, you don't know what you're doing. So, I'll make sure you don't waste a shitload of money on stuff you won't even use." He was crass but helpful? Rose wasn't sure whether she should hate or like him. Charla, on the other hand, had been following silently this entire time, unsure if her opinion would just confuse everyone more.  
99  
However, Charla wanted to ask a question that Rose hadn't taken the time to ask. "How expensive will this be?"

"Well, you're looking at funding a pretty big project here. You have to think about not only the materials to build the greenhouse but the type of soil you want. Also, what about the produce? The pesticide and fertilizer? You'll want to buy some plant treatment, too, just in case one of them gets sick and we're not open-" He paused, his face flushing red as he realized that he'd been rattling on about plants. He sounded like he truly took an interest in them. His voice had a sort of joy to it when he spoke about the many things you'd need to buy to actually create a functioning greenhouse. He coughed into his balled up fist to hide his reddened face. "Let's start with the simple things. The base of the greenhouse." He opened the book, his thumb resting on the inner part of the spine while his fingers splayed out around the back of it. "We'll need two pieces of four by four lumber, one hundred and forty inches long and another two pieces of four by four but this time one hundred and sixty-eight inches long." Both girls shot sidelong glances at one another, unsure how to proceed with this information; where could they even find wood that long? How would they be able to tell?

"Where would we find that?" Charla squeaked, a little intimidated by the sound of the 'big project'. Lucius scowled again as he turned around, a sigh escaping his lips. Neither of the girls could really understand his 'wooden planks' talk.

"You will clearly be helpless without me. Let's go." He murmured, taking off his vest and draping it over a manual display stand. Rose was feeling a little guilty that they were basically stealing him away from his job.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to take you like this?" Rose asked, her face paling as she had to literally jog to catch up to Lucius' stride. He rolled his eyes, that attitude of his showing again.

He turned around, causing the girls to suddenly stop by crashing into each other and wobbling to keep their balance steady. His eyes scanned over Rose's bruises and her broken arm as he rose an eyebrow as if to say, 'really?'. "My uncle wouldn't care, especially if he sees me helping someone with physical disabilities."

Did he just call Rose disabled? That same shock that had come with Jason opening his door and calling her a bitch settled in again. Before she could retort, Lucius was on the move again, impatient. He grabbed a trolley of sorts, not quite a cart, but more of a flat board with wheels and handlebars. Pushing it forwards, he led them to a garage door which was massively open and within, rows and rows of wooden planks of all different sorts and sizes were sitting on shelves with signs dictating exactly what sizes they were. Rose saw a familiar number and she swore it was the right one; walking towards it, she pointed up at the plank, turning her head back to Lucius, who scowled and face palmed, yet another sigh leaving his slumped shoulders looking defeated.

Charla seemed to have the same idea, but with a plank straight across from Rose's choice. She was trying to pull it down in an attempt to be helpful in some way, wanting to provide the help Rose had asked of her.

"No, no, no. Are you guys mentally deficient? Those are clearly off from the planks we need. Rose, your choice is way too thin. A base made from that plank would collapse. Strange girl, please stop trying to touch the planks. We use a forklift to get them down." He gestured to a small, bright red machine in the corner of the garage. Charla, who had stepped on another set of planks to try to get the ones she thought was right, blushed a deep shade of red as she hopped down, embarrassed.

If only she had seen the forklift. She tried to cover her face. It seemed like everyone would be getting embarrassed in some way what with their adventures in Home Depot.

Both Charla and Rose watched in awe as Lucius easily found the planks they were looking for, but the treat was watching Lucius operate a forklift. They were almost mesmerized by it; Rose, who had never seen one in her life let alone been in a store like this, treated it like a trip down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. The smell of freshly cut lumber penetrated her senses; it was a change from the musty smell of Kong. One she welcomed.

Maybe a change of scenery was what she needed. It was the first time beyond Denny's and their little camping detour that she'd been outside Kong. But this was her first time without any of the Gorillaz beside her; only Charla was with her now. She was glad that there were no cops in the area. Hopefully, at least. There was already plenty to worry about without Rose needing to find something else to freak out over.

Lucius lowered the planks, carefully, onto the trolley. In a flash, he'd managed to help the girls beyond what they could've done for themselves. He hopped down from the forklift, picking the discarded greenhouse building manual up from one of the boxes. He scanned the page for a little while longer as Rose began to push the trolley towards the exit. "Where are you going?" He asked, not looking up from the reading material.

She glanced back at him, confusion knitted on her face. "To go and check out. Thanks for helping us."

"No." Lucius laughed, his hysterical laughter bouncing across the walls. A couple of customers glared in his direction, but he didn't seem to care. "Does that look like it'll be enough to build a greenhouse? That's just enough to build the base, not the walls or roof. You don't even have gardening tools," He gestured to the trolley, a grin splashed across his face. Rose shyly pulled the cart back, embarrassed. Now that she really focused on it, it really wasn't enough to build a greenhouse. God, she felt so retarded. It was like this entire trip was a humiliation fest.

"Looks like we're getting the materials for the plates next; let's just mark these." With a red marker he'd found on one of the boxes, he began to draw 'A' on the planks.

"What are you doing?" Charla asked, slightly curious as to Lucius' actions.

He clicked the marker's top back on and tossed it back into the boxes. "Marking the materials. A for step A, so you two idiots don't fuck it up and use the wrong planks for the base."

Finding the rest of the planks took an hour and a half. Possibly the longest time Rose had ever spent in a place like this, watching someone operate a forklift. By the end, there were eight planks of wood marked B, twenty-four two by four planks marked B2, sixteen pieces marked C, twenty-eight pieces marked D, and four marked E.

Rose, whose face pales at the amount of wood piled onto the trolley, simply followed as he pushed it down an alley, digging through the shelves for a couple more additions. "This polyester will make up the walls and roof of the greenhouse." He threw it on top of the massive pile of wood. If he hadn't stacked it the way he did, then they'd definitely be having problems with balance, but luckily it was only a little taller than Lucius. Lucius was about 6'4, Rose presumed.

How he could see where he was going with all that wood in his way, Rose would never know. He parked it by the door, walking over to the counter to quickly dance his fingers against the keys of the cash register's keyboard. With a couple of minutes, he turned to Rose. "With tax, that comes to 797 pounds." Rose bit her lip before reaching into the back pocket of her jeans and pulling out a thick wad of cash. She counted out 800£ and handed it to him. There went quite a bit of her money.

But, this was her idea. "Keep the rest as a tip."

"Oh, three pounds. Gosh gee golly, thanks, really makes me feel thankful." Lucius retorted, with his signature eye roll. Rose was somewhat getting used to his rude ways. It was sad they'd have to part now. "Now let's get on with it. We have to go pick out gardening equipment, soil and produce, fertilizer." He waved them along. Rose was almost speechless; just how much time would they spend here, exactly?! Her eyes strayed to a clock above the door. It was already three. Why did she feel like she was forgetting something?

Jasmine rested her hand on her hip, the heat pushing down on her, causing her to sweat. Her usual black apparel was making it worse; this was why she hated going out during the day. She looked better at night, in the rain, on cloudy days. Not in the bright, hot sun. How dare her sister stand her up? Nobody stood Jasmine up and got away with it. Nobody. This was only making her hate the little bitch more. She'd been waiting at the door for thirty minutes, seeing a silhouette or two pass by. The inhabitants of this run down fuckhole were ignoring her.

Murdoc had simply seen the shapely silhouette and continued walking, something he would not normal do. 2-D had been in his room all day. Russel didn't give enough of a shit to open the door. Jason watched her wait while laughing in the air-conditioned safety of the second floor. Noodle was exploring the vents of Kong, having found a secret network that she could use to get around faster than ever.

Rose, Charla, and Lucius had proceeded to the gardening aisle; truly, the amount of shit this store had was shocking. There were flower pots of all kinds, a stand with all sorts of seeds. The girls both walked straight up to it. Charla saw some of the seed packets labeled as her favorite type of flower, the pictures on them as clear as day. "Gardenias!" She gasped, digging her hands into the seed packets and dumping a handful into the basket that Lucius was carrying for them.

Rose glanced at the seed packets, but the thing that stood out to her most was definitely three things; tiger lilies, bleeding hearts and the many colors of roses. Her hands dug into them as she dropped at least five of each color of rose into the basket, going back for equal numbers of tiger lilies and bleeding hearts.

A familiar face rolled a cart down the aisle of flowers. The difference about this cart is that it was filled to the brim with bags of ice. In the middle of this ice, a penguin sat, its ass on the highest bag. Genji stopped to take a look at one of the flower pots; as Charla turned around, her mouth dropped open. "You're....you're!" Charla couldn't seem to find the words, but Genji turned around, the glint of his glassing hiding his eyes. "That's...!" She pointed at the penguin, sounding like she was out of breath. "You're the person who stole a penguin from the fucking zoo on our field trip all those years ago! And you, you-" Charla sputtered, memories of Genji rushing through her head. There was more than just one occasion; she had many memories with Genji. "Genji?! Genji Stein?" 

"Maybe I am," Genji said, glancing down at the penguin. "Harold, am I Genji Stein?" Harold just squawked, flapping his little fins around. "Harold says yes, I am Genji Stein." Rose came up behind Charla, her eyes curiously switching between Genji and Charla.

She saw the penguin and it locked onto her eyes. What the penguin was thinking was nothing like what Rose, Genji, and Charla were thinking at the moment. Rose was thinking about how she'd love to hug it, Charla was reminiscing about the good old days, and Genji was thinking about how a cucumber sandwich was really just a sandwich with cucumbers as a substitute for bread.

The penguin was thinking of the world in flames, people screaming. "You're not allowed to have pets in here, I told you that the last four hundred times," Lucius muttered, not really doing anything about it. Rose assumed that he honestly didn't give a fuck, but it seemed like every one of them knew Genji in one way or another. But, what was he doing here? Didn't he live like, four hours away?

"What're you doing here, Genji?" 

Genji turned to Rose, surprise on his face. "You... you're... you should come back for a checkup soon." When Genji realized that he hadn't actually answered her question, nor told her that she may be pregnant or have miscarried, his first mental response was a big fat FUCK. "FUCK!" Genji screamed, causing several other shoppers to turn and glare. Rose jumped, worried that she'd offended him in some way. "Harold insists on only the best ice for his indoor aquarium," He gestured to the penguin sitting like a king on the piles of ice, "And he gets really mean if I don't do what he says. He told me only here, so we come here every Friday." Rose was a little surprised this guy was a doctor, especially if he listened to his penguin about where to get ice for it. Harold sqwauked loudly again and Genji yelped. "Time to go!" 

Genji rushed off down the aisle like his ass was on fire, forgetting entirely to tell Rose that she may or may not have been pregnant or still was. It took a moment for both Rose and Charla to steady themselves from such a surprising encounter, but they did. Lucius, however, didn't really care nor did he react in any way.

With the flower diversity picked out, now all they had to do was go for the gardening tools. Lucius heaved a bag of fertilized soil over his shoulder while holding an almost full basket of seeds and gardening tools.

Rose tried offering to carry it but Lucius simply rolled his eyes at her and walked towards the cash, punching in a couple numbers as he slammed the bag of soil onto the counter. "Two hundred pounds." He said, holding out his hand. Rose once again repeated her previous action, handing him the money and cursing her wallet's emptiness.

As both Rose and Charla prepared to leave the building with the trolley, Lucius walked in front of the two girls who were trying to get their pile of materials through the door. "You have to leave that here." They glanced at each other in a panic; they'd never get all these materials through that door in time for dinner. Hell, they'd never even get them up Kong's massive driveway. Kong was at least a forty minute walk away. Lucius sighed again, placing his hands on the counter, his head hung in defeat. "Don't tell me you fucking idiots don't even have a way to get all this shit to wherever you're going? Oh my god." He ran a hand through his hair before reaching underneath the counter, the jingle jangle of his car keys signifying that he might, yet again, come their rescue. As Lucius began to push the trolley out, Rose piped up.

"I thought you said we weren't allowed to take that out."

"Well, do I look like I'm you?"

That shut Rose up. 

Lucius was more than kind enough to not only spend hours helping them pick out each and every material, label them all and find them gardening tools, but now he was also driving them home in his pick up truck. The cars on the highway buzzed by as he did so, the materials in the back, tied down by belts of rope. They hit a slight bump and bounced. Rose looked back at the materials, her worry reaching maximum peak; she'd sunk a lot of money into this project. 

As they pulled up the driveway, Lucius, {who was still extremely angsty about having to do so much for them} came to a stop at the top of the hill. "I should get more than three pounds for this." He muttered, opening his door and getting out. He began to untie the rope. "Where do you want this shit?" 

"What?"

"Didn't you hear me?" He snapped, his impatience going above and beyond the level he thought it could. "Direct me where you want this stuff to go."

"...Oh..." Rose murmured, before guiding him towards the ideal spot at the back of Kong. He quickly got back into his pickup truck, pulling to the back and neatly laying out the planks in order, making sure that everything was there. He stretched, the stars having begun to peek out of a slightly purple-blue sky. 

"So, same time tomorrow, girls?"

Charla and Rose exchanged glances for what felt like the five hundreth time this month. Both of them looked at Lucius, one word coming from both of their mouths; "What?"

Lucius grinned at them, one foot on the step of his pickup. "Clearly, if you could barely get the materials together by yourself, you can't build it by yourselves either."

"Don't you have a job?" Charla questioned, a little tired of his condescending tone after having dealt with it all day long. 

"Yeah, but I don't need to show up. Uncle won't care." With that, Lucius closed the door to his pick up truck and drove off, just as Rose looked up at the sky. She ran a hand through her hair, taking a deep breath, before freezing. She'd remembered what she'd forgotten.

"Fuck."


	35. Phase One, Chapter Twenty One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, Genji's running wild in the comments along with Rose and Harold. Beware... you never know when Genji or Harold will turn a conversation into a roasting match, but it's all playful fun! Roast him back! 
> 
> But especially beware Harold, because that little asshole means every word he says. Squawks? If you think you're having trouble understanding Harold, just say ''there's no doctor like Genji'' three times and tap your feet together and he should probably show up. Maybe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genji takes a sip of his tea, sitting in a nice, old-style comforter. Harold sits on a bag of ice, a crown of diamonds atop his head. Genji is staring off into the distance as Harold squawks loudly; he jumps, noticing you. Then, his face hardens. "Today, I am very upset," He declares, adjusting his glasses. "In the last chapter, someone commented about how much they disliked all these new people coming in. They mentioned quite a few people but they..." He stood up, smashing his teacup on the ground before screaming, a feral scream of absolute rage. "They forgot to mention me and Harold!" He snaps, stomping his foot. He pointed towards the camera, now panning out to show his entire living room. "Tauriel! I thought I raised you better! Why don't you remember daddy?!" 
> 
> Harold let out a series of squawks and Genji gasped, his face turning pale. "Harold...! Not even they deserve such a roast! Watch your language!" Still, he swept towards the camera. "Genji... out!" He attempted to disappear behind his lab coat like a vampire, but when he didn't, he just let out an angsty teen noise and picked up the kettle, whipping it at the camera, which fell to the floor, the vision crackling, before going black. You can no longer see what Genji is doing.
> 
> However, you can hear. "You know, Harold, readers have requested that this be a thing. That writer of ours, whatshername? I don't care. Anyways, they'll be asking us shit from now and we'll just end up in the notes. Apparently, people really want to talk to me-" There's a loud crashing sound- "Ouch! Us, us! Please don't hurt me anymore." 
> 
> Harold waddles into view on another camera, with a sign in his beak that reads "GenjiTalks." Beneath it, there's a very terribly, hard-to-read scrawled note in red that could either be blood or paint that says 'and Harold squawks'. He drops the sign and picks up another. 'The song for this chapter is; Sweet Dreams, by Eurythimics.'
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovvePzbSLrQ

Rose turned to Charla, who was also looking at the stars. She opened her mouth to invite Charla to the movie, but knowing Murdoc, he wouldn't even let her in. This caused her to close her mouth again, that sinking feeling of being shackled to Kong Studios and their inhabitants closing in on her, the realization of how stupid she was to leave it. 

Her father could have killed her. Her father could have killed Charla or Lucius too, at any time. Charla or Lucius wouldn't have even known the reason why they were killed, but Rose knew her father would do his best not to fail a third time. He'd almost gotten away with it. She shivered to think of the results had he tried to; she didn't think they'd have survived.

"Um, Charla, how long are you staying? Where?" Rose asked, turning to the girl she'd spent the day with. Honestly, she'd been a little jealous of her. A lot jealous of her. But in a way, she found herself liking Charla. She felt like a real asshole for her feelings, but she couldn't help it. Charla was... pleasant. She'd never gone shopping with a friend before, let alone had a friend. Her father never allowed it. Rose had barely been allowed out of the house beside the time that they went on vacation to Mexico and the one time she snuck out... she stopped her thought process. She couldn't afford to cry about it now.

Charla turned to Rose, a little more than tired from their adventurous day. "I'm staying at a hotel. I don't really know how long I'm staying, but I'm here to visit Stu, so..." Stu again. Was it a nickname? What Rose wasn't remembering was 2-D's real name; she'd always referred to him as 2-D, so she couldn't really see him as Stuart Pot, let alone remember his actual name. "Anyways, I'd better go. Getting dark out and I'd rather not walk back to the hotel in pitch black." With that, Charla waved, beginning to walk away. "See you tomorrow, Rose!"

Rose waved back before remembering that she had somewhere to be; as she walked through the front doors of Kong, 2-D and Noodle were all clad in jackets, ready to go. Murdoc was playing around with a set of car keys as he rose his hand to the sound of the door opening. "Where have you been? We've been waiting for twenty minutes, the movie starts in ten." 

Rose's face twisted into confusion as she looked between the three. "We're not watching it here? Where's Russel?" 

"Russel had plans and Muds insisted we go-" 

Murdoc whipped the car keys at 2-D, who yelped as they hit him just above his eye, falling backward. He crashed to the floor and Noodle slightly giggled, her shoulders shaking. Still, 2-D got up, handing Murdoc his keys and miserably walking out of Kong. Rose almost felt bad for him, but she followed behind as Murdoc punched the elevator's down button; he would pull the car out front. Noodle bounced after Rose, perfectly happy as her hand slid into Rose's, their fingers intertwining. 

As Murdoc pulled up, 2-D attempted to get into the front seat, but Murdoc slammed on the gas to prevent that. 2-D, with a confused look, once more tried for the door, but the car screeched forwards and stopped. This went on for three more minutes, Rose watching in disbelief as Murdoc let 2-D open the door and hit the gas again. Murdoc was laughing his ass off, 2-D beginning to get upset. 

As he finally stopped, 2-D gave up trying to get in the front and sat in the back. Rose went to get in with him, but it was clear that the back wouldn't fit both her and Noodle, who had already jumped in right after 2-D. This car was so small; she'd never expected Muds to have one like this. Noodle gave her a look of disdain as she pulled away, shutting the car door behind her; Noodle's little hands pressed on the glass, but Rose got into the front, shutting the door. Murdoc's eyes rested on her and Rose didn't know where to look; a smile played on his lips. 

A smile that would surely hint to impure intentions, had Rose given him a simple glance.

The highway was so familiar to Rose, one she'd traveled along several times and walked along today. Yet, with the window rolled down, the cool night air hitting her face as her hand rested on the bottom of the window, it seemed different. There weren't many people on the highway, but the lights lit up both the area ahead of them and the area behind them. It was a five-minute ride to the movie theater at the pace that Murdoc was going. 

Her head turned to him. She took in the sight; he wore his usual black shirt, the glint of his cross around his neck accenting his look perfectly. His hair was greasy looking, but the style wasn't that bad. Again, he had a bit of a stubble, but it fit Murdoc so well that Rose wasn't even complaining; the breeze ruffled his hair and Rose wondered why it was just now that she was noticing, really, how Murdoc looked. There was a single pimple on his chin; it was these curious little outward imperfections, like his nose, that Rose felt an attraction to. He didn't look like a male model, for sure, but there was something about him that made her heart squeeze tightly in her chest. 

Rose was broken from her train of thought as they pulled into the parking lot. The four left the car, Murdoc quickly locked it before jogging to catch up with the three that were making their way towards the theater; few cars were parked in the lot, about thirty-nine. As they walked through the doors, bought their tickets and popcorn, the girl behind the counter chimed in. "Not many people are seeing Rising Dead. There's like, four people in there. You get a nice variety of seats to pick from."

Rose should've known something was up when they entered the darkened theater. All four of the people were closer to the front row than the back rows, which were empty. 2-D hopped up the stairs, Noodle following, sitting in the row two rows from the very back row. Murdoc led Rose past it, to the row at the very top, where he sat down. He patted the chair beside him. "Why here? Why not with them?" 

Murdoc simply shrugged, the lights dimming further as the employee put on the film reel. The intro began, some sort of singing snack counter characters dancing across the screen while flashing 'eat this' propaganda onscreen. As it did, Murdoc's hand rested on Rose's thigh. Her head turned, trying to discover what Murdoc was trying, but all he was doing was consuming popcorn using his other hand. A part of her wanted to ask him why but she knew all he would do is shrug again. 

His hand slowly slid up and down her leg, causing her to shift a little; it was making her uncomfortable, wet. She didn't know why his touch had that effect on her. His hand trailed her inner thigh before his index finger pressed against the outside of her jeans. She felt herself tremble. Noodle looked back at her, a smile on her face, waving. Rose almost froze; her face was red, possibly. It didn't help that Murdoc had slipped his hand inside her jeans, into her panties; his finger gliding across the lips of her cunt softly. As he dipped it in, she could feel it rubbing against her walls. She shifted, almost letting out a slight moan but biting her tongue to hold it in. Even a single finger felt so good. It felt like it took an eternity for Noodle to turn around again as Murdoc thrust his finger in and out of her. The movie began. 

Murdoc grabbed Rose's good hand, guiding it to the thick bulge that was very clear in his pants and although Rose didn't quite want to do this there was a part of her that couldn't stop. Something about it being in public made her wet. The clink of his belt unbuckling, the zip from his zipper, all of it made Rose nervous about being caught but also strangely aroused. Pulling down his underwear, his thick cock was exposed for anyone to see should they decide to simply walk up here. Should Noodle decide to change seats.

As her hand wrapped around the thickness of his cock, sliding up and down the shaft slowly, Murdoc pulled his lips closer to her ear, letting out a breathy groan. "Love, how do my fingers feel?" He murmured, slipping another in. It caused Rose to go rigid, her cunt leaking wetness all over his hand. "You're very wet. Could it be you'd rather my cock instead?" Her face felt like it was on fire. She couldn't respond to that. He kissed her, slightly. It made a small sound that caused 2-D to glance around, breaking away from the screen to look for whoever made that sound. At the same time, Murdoc thrust his fingers to the base of them inside her. Rose almost made a sound, but stopped, hoping it would be over. 2-D must've thought he found the source of the sounds, another couple a couple seats ahead. He rested back into his chair to watch the movie. 

Her thumb gently traced around the hole of his cock, rubbing against it. She could feel it radiate warmth into her hand, twitching, almost begging for attention. "Please stop," She murmured, knowing she didn't mean a single word. He began to withdraw his fingers out of her, but her broken arm's hand shot to his, causing Murdoc to look at her, an eyebrow raised. 

"Sorry, love, I'm not too sure what you're wanting; I'm going to need you to beg for it." Rose's face turned red, his face so close to her. Did he even know what he was asking? She shifted, remaining silent, as Murdoc removed his hand fully. He took his cock into his own hands, examining it, looking bored, almost pitiful. "I guess I can put this away."

Rose grabbed his wrist. His glance was on her and she felt like she was making a fucking river between her legs; the way he was looking at her, primally, with lust in his eyes, as her lips grazed against his once more, their tongues a war. Her fingers were laced in his hair, her desire shown through pure contact. 

As he pulled away, she could tell that he wanted to fuck her. Here. "Mmmm.. I don't hear any begging, love." He still wanted her to?! But she...! "Say it. Say, 'I want you to fuck me, right here, in front of 2-D.'" Her gaze wandered to the blue-haired man, whom she wouldn't mind doing anything with at the moment. Something about being screwed by Murdoc in front of him caused her to almost break; she felt like she wanted nothing more. Thinking of him watching made it worse. His lips were on hers again, but he pulled away sooner this time. "Just think," He began to stroke himself, "This, inside you. Right now. How's that sound?"

Rose shouldn't speak at the moment. She knew that. But she couldn't help herself. She felt like she needed, craved his cock. "Murdoc, please. Fuck me, right here, in front of 2-D." A smile crept onto his face and Rose knew she had said exactly what he wanted her to say; she had no time to be embarassed about it, because his hands slid around her waist as he heaved her over the bar seperating them, into his lap. His fingers dug into her jeans and panties, sliding them down a little, but not enough so that she wouldn't be able to pull them up quickly. 

Murdoc began to rub the tip of his cock on the lips of her cunt. She wanted him inside her now, wiggling against him, but he wouldn't let her sit on it, not yet. The head of his cock disappeared inside her, but he pulled it out with a pop. 2-D once more began looking around. As he turned to look at Rose and Murdoc, his eyes wide open, Murdoc dropped her straight onto his cock. As he penetrated her, deeply, Rose didn't even realize they'd been caught. He couldn't stop, his eyes trained on where Rose and Murdoc were connected as Murdoc slowly thrusted.

2-D watched Murdoc's cock disappear into Rose, the thickness of it stretching her pussy open and he could feel his own bulge grow. A part of him hated himself for enjoying it. Another part of him wanted to be the one inside her right now. Rose looked like she was enjoying it, her back arched, her eyes closed. 

Her cunt looked nice and wet; perfect. Like it would swallow his cock too. It seemed to be doing so to Murdoc's just fine. He glanced at Noodle, who was literally hypnotised from the screen. He took off his jacket, laying it over his pants before sliding his arm furthest away from Noodle underneath it, undoing his pants. His eyes dashed to Rose, who was still being fucked by Murdoc. He couldn't help it. It was her fault. Getting fucked like that. Looking like a bitch in heat.

Rose was absolutely intoxicated by the feeling of Murdoc's cock filling her up. She tried her best not to moan, but as she leaned back against him, his lips running across her shoulder as he pulled down her shirt a little. Murdoc's eyes locked onto 2-Ds. He grinned, his long tongue flicking out, sliding it across her shoulder and to her neck, where he retracted it to suck on a little spot all while thrusting. His teeth sunk into the other side of her neck, the unmarked side, creating another bite mark where there wasn't one. 

2-D was feeling jealousy, envy and lust as his long fingers stroked his cock. He was jerking off, in public, to the girl he wanted to be with and another guy. How fucked was that? Not only that, but Murdoc was looking straight at him. That fuck knew exactly what he was doing. 2-D bit down on his lip, drawing forth a slight well of blood. Fuck. Fuck! Why Murdoc? He didn't want her! 

Rose almost moaned, but Murdoc stuffed his fingers into her mouth, knowing she was close to coming like he was. Her tongue slid across them, in between them and Murdoc knew that was it for him; he couldn't hold back. Still, he slowed down. "I don't think I want you to cum today, love." He whispered, knowing that 2-D could hear them now that he was focusing on them. 

"No.. please.." Rose whimpered, trembling. She needed it. Her voice was stifled a little by his fingers, but still understandable.

"Maybe say something a little more daring and I'll finish the job. How does begging for me to cum inside you sound?" 

Rose felt him inside her, twitching, not moving. She was losing her mind to the pleasure. "Murdoc, please... please cum inside me." She begged. That was all Murdoc needed to hear; he thrusted into her, hard. She almost squealed. She would have, had Murdoc not wrapped his hand around her throat. He was squeezing tightly. Tightly enough to cut off her air supply and between the pleasure and the pain, it had her mind fucked up. She barely felt it as he slammed into her pussy, the base of his cock all that was exposed. With a few twitches, his hot seed spilled into her. Rose finally came. Murdoc didn't let go of her throat until he was finished. Still, he pushed her off of him. With a small thud, she fell to the floor. Noodle didn't even look around; her eyes were glued to the screen, consumed and captivated by the zombies. 

Rose fell to the floor and 2-D was stroking his cock harder; seeing Murdoc's thick load spill out of Rose was too much for him. Not only that, but seeing him basically discard Rose after he was done with her, wiping his cock with a napkin he'd picked up from the snack counter, fuck. 2-D wanted to do so much worse to Rose. He wanted to do what Murdoc did and more.

He felt his balls release their pressure, his seed shooting onto his jacket. As his dick became limp, his cock fully rubbed out, he swore he made it chafe from how fast and hard he'd been rubbing it. He hadn't even noticed the pain; he'd been too focused on how Rose was being treated roughly, like a toy. 

Fuck. He quickly zipped his pants back up, wiping his hand on his jacket. Tossing it to the side, he could barely focus on the movie as how Rose looked when she was fucked like that invaded his mind and the dark feelings settling within him; he didn't want to believe in the slightest that he liked it. He couldn't have.

Murdoc quickly mimicked 2-D's actions. He was done and fine; tonight was a good idea. Of course 2-D hadn't planned it, but it turned out better than he thought. Rose had basically milked his cum; something she'd be doing plenty more from now on. He felt confident; she was all his and nobody would change that. He could do anything to her, and she'd still come crawling back to him. The fact he raped her and all she did was consent to more was a bonus. 

Rose picked herself up off the floor. Usually, she felt good, but for some reason, this time, she felt like shit after. Ashamed of all the things he'd made her say. She slid her pants back up, dejectedly looking down at what was left from Murdoc's fun; an employee would have to clean it. Sitting herself beside Murdoc, he did something she didn't expect; he wrapped his arm around his shoulder.

His stubble brushed against her chin as he kissed her, more of a gentle, loving kiss than she was used to. Not filled with lust.

Murdoc didn't know why he felt the need to do that. Maybe it just kept her on a leash. Yeah, that's what it was. Maybe if she thought he was into her she'd keep coming round. However, with Rose's head resting on his shoulder as they watched the rest of the movie, he didn't want to stop touching her. He held her tighter, his eyes trained on the back of 2-D's head. Little fuck wouldn't get anywhere near her now, now that he knew who she belonged to.

Oh, how wonderfully wrong Murdoc was. 2-D was forming a plan of his own in that dull mind of his.


	36. Phase One, Chapter Twenty Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A certain mad doctor was slaving over the stove in his kitchen as Harold slid by, spinning on an office chair that bounced off the walls and cabinets like a Beyblade. He was currently making blueberry pancakes, but it seemed as if he'd piled an excess amount of blueberries onto them. His head turned to face the camera and a duck sticker was on his cheek; he gave it a smile and waved. "Not much to talk about at the moment, but good morning! Or afternoon. Or midnight. Who cares?" 
> 
> Harold squawked as he rolled by the camera again, seemingly spinning out of control. Genji waved his spatula towards the camera, turning, showing his 'kiss the mad doctor' apron. He yawned. It was clear he either hadn't slept at all or he'd slept too much. Still, the camera would pan to Harold, holding his usual 'GenjiTalks' sign as he spun out of control. He crashed into the wall, sailed through the air, and landed in the trashcan. On the back of the chair, the song of the chapter was labeled. 
> 
> ''The song for this chapter is; Dreamers, by K. Flay.'' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1-AavEhsTc

Rose felt sick to her stomach as she dashed to the bathroom, emptying the contents into the toilet. She sighed; she'd been getting sick a lot lately. To be fair, she did eat almost uncooked meat last night when they got back from the theater. She should've known something was up when she tasted iron, but she still wasn't good enough at cooking to really call herself enough of an expert to tell the difference between raw and cooked meat. It really looked brown on the outside but on the inside, it was nothing more than red meat.

Rose wiped her mouth on the back of her sleeve, struggling to get up. It was about ten in the morning, maybe a little bit later than that. Both Charla and Lucius would be here at any moment. She turned to the mirrors, her brush resting on the side of one of the sinks. She brushed through it, not too much but making sure to at least get out a couple knots. She looked at least presentable. She hoped she wouldn't fuck up the building too badly.

The buzz of Kong's doorbell signified that Lucius or Charla was here. As Rose dashed towards the door, trying to be the first one to get there, it was clear that she failed. Coming down the stairs, Murdoc swung the door open, irritated by the sound. How he got there so fucking fast, Rose would never know.

Murdoc finally met with Lucius, their eyes clashing. Lucius' eyes rolled over Murdoc's full arm and rose an eyebrow when he saw the golden cross around his neck. "Really?" He muttered, rolling his eyes. Murdoc opened his mouth to retort but was shocked to be pushed out of the way as Lucius invited himself in. Murdoc's mouth, agape, his eyes bulging, began to feel the rage set in; how dare this brat disrespect him in his own house?

"Hi, Lucius," Rose greeted the curly haired, tanned-skinned boy with a shy wave. Murdoc must've taken this as something it wasn't; he slung his arm around Rose's shoulder, grinning at the newcomer.

"How about you kick him out and come and have a shag in my Winnebago, love?" Lucius' fingers twitched in annoyance. It seemed nobody expected what happened next. Rose felt the pressure in her throat but by then it was too late; she emptied whatever was left of her stomach onto the floor. Right onto Murdoc's shoes. The man looked aghast, completely taken aback. Rose was a little terrified to actually look up, should Murdoc be ready to point weapons and fire. "...Huh. A girl's never given me a reaction like that before." He murmured, seemingly musing over it; he didn't sound angry. Rose, who was too shocked to move, simply stared at Murdoc, who looked back at her. He looked like he'd completely been taken by surprise.

Rose couldn't help but think there was a more vulnerable side of Murdoc; one where he made expressions like this. She couldn't believe she was saying it, thinking it, but he looked cute. The wideness of his eyes and the slightly caught off-guard tone. In that moment, it seemed like he could never harm a single soul, like he was just a man who was just as lost in the journey of life as anyone else. Her heart fluttered. 

But, she was broken from her fantasy as Lucius pulled her away from Murdoc, whose face once more twisted back to the usual look of anger. That warm, fluttering feeling she had was gone almost as soon as it had come; the once-innocent gaze that had permeated her mind was now replaced by his glare. 

As Lucius pulled her beyond the glass doors, towards the back, he stopped and slid a hand into the pocket of his jeans. He was wearing a white long-sleeve T-shirt, his jeans more of a dark blue than pale. Pulling out a seemingly ornate handkerchief out with a lovely L on it, he put it in her palm. Rose gave him a quizzical glance and he simply sighed. "Can't do anything yourself, can you?" He pulled it out of her palm and dabbed at the corners of her mouth, wiping away any of the remains of her bile. 

Rose's eyes scanned Lucius; his black locks were thick and between curly and wavy. His skin was lightly bronzed as if all he ever did was spend his days out in the sun. Rose tried pulling away but Lucius' hand kept her steady; he was gentle, yet firm. "I'm sorry, this is gross." 

His eyes, which Rose had just begun to notice, were a pale yellow. A rare color that she had never seen in her life. A small smile played across his lips as he withdrew and folded the handkerchief up, gently putting it back in his pocket. "This is nothing, flower. I've seen much worse." Rose's eyes were locked onto his and it seemed like they stared at each other for a moment.

"Flower?" Rose murmured, her brows knitting tightly into confusion.

Lucius' face began to flush a dim red as he stepped away, his eyes looking for anything or anyone else to focus on. He simply mumbled as Charla turned the corner, searching for the two. "Just a nickname. Your name is Rose or whatever, right?" Before she could reply he'd turned around and was on the path straight to the materials that they'd unloaded from his truck just the day before. 

Charla, with a smile on her face, glanced between Rose and Lucius. It was a great morning for her and she'd gotten a wonderful sleep; not to mention the walk up here in the morning was rather pleasant, especially with the weather being so wonderful. "How are you today?" 

Rose's face flushed red as the 'how are you' reminded her of last night, with Murdoc forcing her to beg. In public. In front of 2-D. God, what if she'd have been caught? What if both of them ended up... she didn't want to think about it. "Y-Yes." She stammered and a look of confusion crossed Charla's face. Fuck. That wasn't a good response. 

"Rose, weird girl, get over here. I need to know where you want it." Charla was a little annoyed by the fact that Lucius didn't even use her name, but a slightly embarrassed flush crept across her face as she realized that she'd never even told him her name. Both walked over to him and Charla felt that now was the time to voice her concerns.

"My name is Charla." 

Lucius turned to her, an eyebrow raised. The expression on his face made Charla think that this guy would never be able to just chill out and crack a smile, for fucks sakes. His posture was rigid and the guy looked like if she brought out the blunts in her back pocket that he'd snap at her rather than agree to join them. Charla was a little nervous that Rose wouldn't enjoy her little present since she didn't really seem like the type to be into drugs. In fact, Rose seemed a little innocent; Charla doubted the poor girl ever had sex. She felt a little bad for her being around that disgusting pig, Murdoc. Lucius rolled his eyes; his typical response. 

Rose, however, was completely unaware of the current little spat going on between Lucius and Charla. Her gaze lingered to a more shadowed area; it would be lovely to have a greenhouse half in the sun and half out, especially on the hot days. She turned back to Lucius, whose piercing gaze was now on her and he let out a loud sigh. "Are you a fucking idiot? No, we'll have it where I wanted it to be from the start; right here." He walked over and stomped on a firm patch of ground in the sun with his work boots. "I won't have you suffocating these poor plants. I can barely stand to think what horrors they'll be subjected to..." Lucius trailed off, muttering more insults under his breath. Rose was appalled; there was no use in arguing with him, as Lucius probably wouldn't even pay attention to anything she tried anyways.

He seemed to know his way around plants, so Rose assumed it would be best to just let him do what came naturally to him. Perhaps it was because of Rose's name he'd treated her so gently even if it were only for a moment of their time together.

Lucius heaved a plank off the pile, marked A. Seeing him drag it to the destination Rose couldn't really not help him out; it seemed like both she and Charla had similar opinions as they rushed to pick up the other side of the plank but knocked their heads together. Both staggered backward, falling onto their asses. Charla rubbed at her temple, dazed from the impact. Rose simply struggled to get back up again, a little more used to that type of pain then she'd like to admit. "You both are completely useless," Lucius snapped, his annoyance rising. "Just... grab me stuff when I tell you to." 

He began by building the base as the girls tried their best not to get in his way while simultaneously helping him, which was a little more difficult than it sounded. He motioned for someone to get the stakes and the other to get the nails; it was about thirty minutes as he installed them into position properly, therefore setting a sturdy frame into the ground. 

Lucius had one last step; the cut off a certain part of the block of the wood before drilling through them with little holes. It made the planks slide perfectly into one another and the nails lock in properly. Rose wondered why he did not do that before but she wouldn't question his knowledge. 

The sides of the greenhouse seemed much simpler; he spaced the studs, the B-planks, making a clear frame that was quickly built in a little less than an hour. Now Charla was the one using the drill and Lucius seemed to stay as far away as possible from her while she was doing so. Still, she was drilling in all the right places, because Lucius seemed to think he could look away and check on what Rose was doing.

Rose was building the other wall; they only had one up now and even then it was barely finished. It would take Charla at least ten more minutes but Rose was getting frustrated because she couldn't position it properly. She jumped as Lucius' hands were on hers, his body behind hers. Rose was a little more than nervous; what did he want? "Steady your hands. If you keep thinking about the target, you'll never hit it."

What did he mean by that? This wasn't archery. Perhaps it was some metaphor that Rose had no idea how to even begin walking herself through. But still, Lucius was calm and gentle, guiding her hands. He wrapped hers around the second drill he'd brought down and the loud sound began as they properly drilled the plank into place. That was the first of the studs; there was still ten to go. "How can you do that without a measuring tape of sorts?"

Lucius chuckled and all Rose could feel was a breath on the back of her throat. "I've had many years of experience, enough to get a feel for where things should be, you know?"

"Next thing you're going to tell me is you're a wise old turtle."

"I look young, but people shouldn't judge experience by age. Everyone goes down their own path, you know?" Lucius was a little more tender when other people weren't paying attention; as they moved to settle the next plank she realized he was barely touching her but it seemed so much more pronounced than when 2-D or Murdoc did. His body wasn't even touching her but just his hand; she didn't know why it bothered her. She didn't feel any attraction to him, did she? No, she couldn't. She'd just met him. Beyond that, Murdoc...

Her eyes glanced up as a shadow cast over the both of them and Lucius' hand withdrew quickly. Speak of the devil. Lucius chuckled darkly, for reasons Rose couldn't even begin to understand. Murdoc stood over the both of them before kneeling down and waving his hand, signaling Rose to give him the power drill. She reluctantly handed it to him. Lucius stood up, one of his hands in his pocket, both caught in a sort of staring match. He pressed his finger down on the button and the drill began to spin in midair, stopping as he let go. 

He steadied the other side of the plank before drilling the nail into it, his hand splayed out across the wood. Rose was worried for a second that he may drill into himself but Murdoc didn't seem to care; he also seemed slightly suited to this kind of work, maybe even more so than Lucius. His focus was a lot better as Rose's as he quickly moved down the line, setting each stud into place. 

Charla was done but made a noise of disgust as she walked towards the three who were crouched by the almost-finished wall. "Who invited him?" She asked, her malice towards him clear. Murdoc simply flashed a smile at Charla, whose nose crinkled in disgust at the foul-smelling, overly sexual annoyance. She still remembered the fist fight they'd gotten into; a fading bruise on her face a simple remenant of the spat. 

Lucius simply crossed his arms, watching in disdain as Murdoc screwed the last plank and stood to his feet. "He didn't," Lucius sneered, clearly having quite a bit of hostility towards Murdoc. Rose's eyes dashed between the two parties; she didn't understand why Lucius had reason to hate Murdoc, but Charla was mildly understandable. The tension in the air felt unbreakable. Rose herself didn't know whether to hate or like Murdoc. Maybe she couldn't claim she hated him because when she looked at him she didn't see a man who'd done cruel things to her but the man that kissed her under the stars, the man who'd saved her multiple times. 

Murdoc was shirtless and it was clear that his hygiene was below the normal standards even for him. He wasn't saying anything. Just glaring silently, his chest slowly rising and falling to signify the fact he was breathing. He licked his lips, before taking a sidelong glance at Rose and she could feel the heat inside her rise to a boiling point; she wondered what it would be like between her legs. No, she couldn't think that way. She couldn't become some sort of eager bitch in heat whenever Murdoc happened to be nearby. Rose forced the thoughts and the lust down. 

As the four struggled to pick up the wall and set it properly, the men holding it while Charla and Rose worked to quickly make sure to set it; Charla began near Murdoc and Rose, near Lucius. "He doesn't seem pleasant." Lucius murmured, trying to keep his voice low.

Meanwhile, Murdoc was busy trying to taunt Charla. "Hello, fatass. Come back for another piece, have we?" Charla gave him a pointed glare and moved a stud away, trying her best to get to the other end as quickly as possible.

Rose shrugged, taking her sweet time. "He can be a bit of a problem, but he grows on you." She guessed that was as honest as she could get without spilling any of her feelings, if she could call them feelings, about Murdoc.

"Sounds about right, man looks like a tumor as much as he acts like one."

"Do you ever have anything nice to say?" Rose hissed, getting upset at the fact that he was insulting Murdoc when he barely knew him. Her eyes darted up to Lucius; he was staring at her without a smile. His yellow eyes scared her, slightly, because they reminded her of the unknown. He sighed.

"No, flower, I don't. Not about anyone here, anyways. Maybe not about anyone anywhere."

"What's your damage?"

"Do I need to have some kind of damage?"

"No, but you're acting like you do."

Lucius laughed.

"You should stop fighting when we both know that you're not the type of girl who can stand up for herself." 

Rose's anger was now rushing through her veins. She wanted to snap back but she couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't just make it worse. So, in her silence, she stewed, speeding up the process until she finally heard his voice. "Love, did I ever say you could build anything out here?"

She was nearer to Murdoc than she'd like at the moment. His cross rested on his chest and for some reason, she always felt like her eyes were strangely drawn to it; for a symbol of unholiness that worshiped the devil, it made her feel strangely relaxed to simply glance at it sometimes. Maybe it shouldn't, but it honestly did. There was an awkward sense of safety. "No, you didn't."

"But you still went ahead with it."

"Does it look like you care, Murdoc?" She snapped, tired of both Lucius and Murdoc, pretty much fed up with both of their personalities. They were remarkably alike; something that Rose didn't really enjoy. It made her feel awkward around Lucius because she didn't know how to deal with someone so similar to yet so different than Murdoc. "You're helping me build it anyways."

He shrugged but he would not stop staring at her. "I don't have much else to do today." 

Rose knew for a fact that was a lie; the band was supposed to start the creation of a new song recently. Which meant, Murdoc, who was the band's self-proclaimed leader, was slacking off here in a moment that he was meant to be playing the bass with the others. They must've been confused where he was; Rose was surprised someone hadn't come down to find him yet. 

As they finished off the second wall, Rose stepped back; it had been around ten when they started, but now it was around two; Murdoc had helped them for an hour and thirty minutes. She was surprised they could manage that much without Charla starting a fight or Lucius getting more uppity; yet still, the day would go on. 

There was more to come and Rose could not even begin to imagine what would befall her tonight.


	37. Phase One, Chapter Twenty Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Genji groaned as he tried propelling himself across the floor with only the use of his arms. He was less than pleased about being up at six in the morning; he'd stayed up until four doing very not legal things. Still, he managed to get himself on the couch before turning to the camera, giving it a glare. "So, we have a really lame question today," Genji muttered, his bad mood leaking out of him. "Ew. Favorite food." He looked at the camera in disgust. "Well, Harold refused to get up for this. Trust me, I tried, but then he had a gun and I really suddenly didn't feel like trying anymore for some reason." 
> 
> Genji shrugged before rubbing at his eyes. "It's such a plain question, really. Have you ever heard of Casu Marzu?" Genji waited a moment for you to respond before he realized you actually couldn't. "Well, it's my favorite food. I'd never eat it, though. It's maggot cheese. They say that if the maggots die, then the cheese isn't good anymore." He paused for a moment, glancing around the room. "So, the maggots jump, too. They're jumping, biting maggots. And you're supposed to eat them too and people say it's like eating death; there's a burning sort of sensation. Can you imagine? Eating death?" His tone was almost wondrous as if he admired those who could take a step to devour death. "But, you can't really eat death. It comes for us all, no matter how much we try to stop it."
> 
> Genji fell silent, staring at a particular spot on the floor before softly replying to himself. "Some people cry when it comes. Others accept it. But most, most fight it. I've seen a lot of people do all three. A lot of people," He repeated himself, "I don't understand why they scream in my head and beg and pray. I can't shut out the voices. I can hear them screaming." His face turned pale, his fingers digging into his temples as if to shut it out. "God, make it stop. Someone make it stop. I don't want to hear them anymore. Nobody cares. Nobody is home, nobody is there to care," He whimpered. "Just give up."
> 
> The camera faded to black. 
> 
> The song for this chapter is Dark Paradise, by Lana Del Rey.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ber2JVO3g5Y

Rose awkwardly rubbed her neck. Both men seemed to be more than ready to strip; Lucius was glaring at Murdoc, seemingly jealous of his shirtlessness. Rose couldn't help but notice that even under his shirt, Lucius had a nice physique. And by nice, Rose meant amazing. His shirt was basically clinging to his figure, dripping with sweat. Murdoc, however, was just a smidge less... bodily prepared. Lucius seemed to do what he did with grace, while Murdoc adjusted his balls a bit.

While Murdoc was a slob Rose couldn't help but think how just that one action summed him up so well.

Rose's eyes, however, were trained on Lucius. He seemed a little distraught, sweating the way he was. Rose could tell he wanted to take off his shirt but something kept him from doing so. Charla spoke up. "I'm gonna go get a drink." She stood from her current little project of painting one of the several pots they'd bought; Murdoc's eyes snapped to her.

"I'll be going with her. Gotta make sure you don't steal anything, love," He stated plainly when Charla threw him a glare, "and I've gotta piss, too."

"Well, don't tell me that." Charla snapped, trudging across the lawn towards Kong with Murdoc following slowly behind, trying his best to irritate her or insult her.

Rose knew that this would perhaps be her only chance to inquire why he seemed to not want to remove his shirt; as Lucius was working, she crept up behind him. He didn't move, he didn't even turn his head. "What are you up to?" He put down the tool, finally turning to look at her. Rose jumped.

"I was just..." Her eyes caressed his form and he chuckled, gesturing to himself.

"Wondering why I don't take off the shirt and bask in the glory of the sun like that other guy?" Rose was almost in awe at the fact that he knew even a little of what she was thinking.

"Um, yes."

Lucius sighed, resting his hand on the table, his yellow eyes gazing at the sky. The makeshift wooden table creaked under his weight. "Suppose it's fine. Not like I should care. But really, you should actually ask rather than gawk at me." Rose almost stuttered. Gawk? Who was gawking?! She froze as Lucius slid his fingers under the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head. 

Her mouth almost dropped open. Pale scars littered his torso. Where there were some, others overlapped; it was like his entire frame was covered in them. Some led into the waist of his pants and Rose felt like that wasn't where they ended, but the ultimate worry started when Lucius turned his back. Two jagged, long scars that were stained a deep red as if they'd been torn open time and time again were on either side of his back, part of his shoulder covered by them; they dragged down to his midsection and Rose swore she'd never seen anything like it. The smaller, more faded scars were nothing compared to these two and she felt compelled to touch him. 

Her fingers splayed out across his back and Lucius seemed to jump at her touch. Still, he leaned on the table, allowing her to examine them, her fingers running along the ridges of his more prominent scars. "Fights over territory." 

"Gang wars?"

"Something like that, yeah." 

"Didn't think you'd be involved in that kind of stuff."

"Well, Rose," Lucius turned around and there was a look in his eyes that she couldn't place, one that made her feel like she should back up. Maybe escape. A part of him screamed danger. But another part of what she felt was that he wouldn't hurt her. "You can't judge people by appearance alone. You never know when the devil's going to crawl into your bed." That line made her think of Murdoc. He was right. It may be a metaphor, but he was absolutely, irrevocably right. 

"You religious?" Rose asked, her eyes straying away from his figure. Even with all the scars, there was no doubt that he was attractive; he didn't have a bad face and his shapely body was enough to make a woman turn her head. Still, a part of her was attached to Murdoc. It made her feel as if she were betraying him in a way. It was strange because when 2-D held her, she never had that feeling but just looking at Lucius made all the difference. 

Lucius chuckled, quickly bringing his shirt up back over his head. "Nah. It's all bullshit. How about you?" Rose shrugged, crossing her arms. She felt a little uncomfortable and the heat was definitely picking up. The two were just waiting in silence for Murdoc and Charla to return. Still, his scars had burned a mental image into her mind; gang wars? How could someone so young get so marked up like that? Rose was almost sure he had a troubled upbringing. Maybe he was like her. "You're the one who asked, so don't be so uncomfortable now that you know the truth."

Her eyes strayed back to his. He was staring at her. Rose was unsure how to reply. Maybe asking another question would be fitting. "I'm not. I'm just wondering why you don't seem to like Murdoc all that much."

He rose an eyebrow. "You kidding? Do I look like I like anyone, flower?" When she didn't respond, he sighed. "I don't like him because he seems like the type to back out of a deal. I'm used to those types, see. They're cowards. Annoying to deal with. I come across a lot of people like him in my line of work."

Rose took a moment to muse over what he meant by this. She figured she wouldn't be able to come up with it on her own. "What exactly is your line of work," She gestured to the unbuilt section of the greenhouse, "Except for this?"

Another chuckle. Seemed like Lucius was smiling again. That was three times today in the course of five or six hours. This guy really didn't smile much. Then again, technically it was three times since she met him. He always scowled. "Deals. People who don't pay up tend to shit themselves when I come along. Pretty funny, actually."

"I've never met someone who was so willing to admit they were involved in illicit activity."

"I've never met someone who was so eager to see me shirtless. Well, I have, but I've never met someone who's actually gotten me to take my shirt off." Rose flushed red and he laughed, loudly, clapping his hands together. "But, who would you honestly tell?" His tone went lower. The look on his face didn't make her feel safe from him anymore. "And who would get where first; me to you, or you to the cops?" 

Rose wasn't willing to try to find out. She somewhat regretting having interrogated him like that. Maybe it would be easier to simply forget it but with the look on his face, she didn't know if- 

Lucius' hands slid into hers and held them firmly. She looked up, her eyes widening. His face was close. Too close. "I know an addict when I see one, flower." Rose tried looking away but she found herself too drawn to his eyes to look away. "If you do something for me, I can do something for you." His face was closer now and her breath caught in the back of her throat. "You're shaking. Are you feeling the urges, or do you fear me?" 

Rose couldn't speak. Any words she'd have to say to him were unable to come out. What kind of something? She was trembling more. She wanted to pull away. Whatever kind of hold he had on her, she wanted it to be gone already. 

Lucius was the one to pull away. He gave her a slightly sad smile. "Relax, Rose, I'm not gonna do anything to you. Not unless you consent, anyways. Remember, offer still stands." She was still shaking. Why? What was it with terrible men and coming into her life? But he hadn't done anything to her; he'd just scared her. His piercing yellow eyes wouldn't leave her alone. The promise of making the urges, the sick feeling in her stomach, the weird morning symptoms of going cold turkey gone... well. Rose stepped towards him. 

"What if... what if I did consent?" 

She was desperate. She just felt sicker and sicker as the days passed and she was sure it was the drug addiction. Lucius stepped towards her. "Then we'll make a deal and seal it with a kiss." A simple kiss. Shouldn't be too hard. But she didn't know what he wanted. "I'm not usually the type of guy to just do this kind of thing, so I hope you can at least get an idea of what I want so I don't have to say it out loud." 

Sex.

Her heart dropped. Of course, it was sex. She bit her lip and glanced up at him. 

"Don't have to do it, flower. Still early enough to back out." Her trembling hands reached out to touch him and Lucius' gaze softened. His hands were on her arms, gentle. "I'm not going to harm you." The reassurance helped a lot. It did feel like maybe she was betraying Murdoc, but she wasn't even sure whether Murdoc saw her the way she did him or not. Hell, what way did she see him? She just knew that she wanted the pain to go away. 

"I... alright." 

Lucius' hand slid up her arm, to her chin, tilting it up. His lips grazed hers and her heart fluttered. He was gentle; it was different than kissing Murdoc. Different than 2-D. He didn't feel as... desperate. As hungry. He was calmer and seemingly had a lot more patience, enjoying the moment rather than trying to devour it. It was a slow kiss that deepened and even if Lucius wasn't trying to devour her she felt like she was being consumed by him. He pulled away.

"Never done that before." He said, leaning back against the table as he stepped away. Rose tilted her head.

"What, me?" 

"No. Me. You heard me correctly."

"You've never kissed a girl?"

"I've had lots of sex," Rose was beginning to get nervous about the fact whether he was disease-ridden or not, "Relax, I'm clean. Been a while since I've had any. But, no, I've never kissed a girl before." 

Rose was appalled by Lucius' statement; he certainly kissed like he had. "Then why now?" 

Lucius shrugged. "You've got something different than the women I'm usually accustomed to. Guess I got curious, although bodily pleasures don't really appeal to me all that much anymore."

Rose frowned. "Then why exchange them with me?"

Lucius chuckled. "Because you wouldn't have liked any of the other payment options."

Rose felt a chill run down her spine. It was best not to pry, she learned that now. But still, a part of her was excited to finally be free of all these annoying symptoms. Painful symptoms. And she guessed it could be worse; she could be sleeping with the devil. Part of her associated that with Murdoc. Maybe he was fitting for that title. 

What Rose didn't know, yet again, as with all of her other mistakes, that she'd made a mistake.

The difference between all of her other mishaps and this one, however, was great.

This is the one event that would set in motion something much worse. Much bigger than Rose imagined. Perhaps it would even result in her death. Maybe it would result in Lucius'. 

Or maybe, just maybe, it would cause several other people to suffer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for all the dialogue in this chapter. I hope you didn't get bored while reading!


	38. Phase One, Chapter Twenty Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Next Genjitalks, huh?" Genji murmured, moving about his laboratory. Strange jars lined the walls. "What the fuck is there to talk about if nobody asks anything?" He gestured to the laptop which was buzzing, a strange sign that it was probably about to explode. He groaned, sitting his ass down on a chair as Harold dove into a large fish tank embedded in the lab wall and began to attack the fish. 
> 
> "I guess there's psychology and the '2-D is out of wah wah character wah WAH!'" He spat, glaring at the camera. "You listen here, you pitiful pitbulls! 2-D outta whack, huh? And what's your idea, a flowery ponce who can do no wrong?! Writer may be a fuckin' retard, but I swear to god nobody here knows psycholog-" He took a deep breath. "Oh, that's right. You don't. Well. This is awkward. Well, for those of you with complaints, I guess the only thing I can say is the ponce is a damaged boy with nothing much going for him but a pretty face. I don't like him much, actually. I can only thank god that he's not that perfect little dumpling that all those 2-D lovers want 'im to be. Fluffy shit makes me sick. You know, I've probably read your fanfiction. And if I had, and if it's full of fluff, I'd be glad to say that I'd probably set my computer on fire in hopes of OUT OF THIS HOUSE!" 
> 
> Genji grabbed a bottle of water and a holy cross, flinging streams of water at the camera, which backed away. "Out of this house, OUT OF THIS HOUSE! NOT IN MY FUCKING HOUSE!" He viciously waved the cross around. "NOT TODAY, SATAN!" He screamed, whipping the cross at the camera which embedded itself in the less. The camera shorted out. 
> 
> It came back to life. Genji's lab was on fire, he was tearing out the pages of a bible and screaming, dragging a goat through the lab. Harold was flopping across the floor with the fish, enjoying the water now filling the room and the broken fish tank; the fish were now in prime condition to be hunted, Harold was a silent hunter, the best of them all...
> 
> "What the hell are you doing to my bible?!" A feminine voice shrieked. "Genji, no! Stop taking the lord's name in vain!" 
> 
> Harold stood up in front of the camera, taking a permanent marker and scribbling words on his stomach. 
> 
> 'The song for today's chapter is Holy, by Zolita.'  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdYiYjuf0ko

They'd gotten half a wall done and the frame of the door before stopping. It was six already. Murdoc had been dragged in by Russel, who was extremely pissed off that he'd skipped their recording session. Murdoc snapped the entire way inside, but a couple of threats of physical violence from Russel and he was done with fighting it. Lucius had bought everyone lunch a couple of hours ago, which was kind of him.

Charla, on the other hand, stretched. "Can't wait to have a shower. How about you, Luc?" Charla had taken to calling Lucius Luc, which annoyed him greatly; the look on his face was one of disdain for his pet name.

"It's Luci-" He stopped, sighing, knowing she wouldn't listen. Maybe he'd aggravated her too far since he refused to call her by her name and instead had taken to the nickname 'weird girl'. "Yeah, a shower." His gaze turned to Rose, who shivered. They'd be going out to a restaurant tonight. Lucius had been insistent on at least taking her out for dinner before they got into bed together. It made Rose nervous. She'd never really been out with a guy like that besides the daily trips to Denny's. Charla nodded, pleased with their progress on the greenhouse.

"Same time tomorrow, right, Rose? Please don't invite that bastard next time," She nodded in the direction of Kong. Rose assumed she meant Murdoc. "He's distracting. Might end up nailing him in the foot with a nail gun by accident." Charla muttered. Rose made a mental note not to let Charla find herself suddenly near Murdoc with any sort of nail gun in her possession. 

Rose stood up and smiled as Charla walked away. Now, it was only her and Lucius remaining, a thick silence between them. She turned to face him and she stepped forwards; he was much taller than her. He beckoned her, walking past. She followed obediently and he opened the passenger door of his truck for her, which she took the liberty to get into. Lucius came around the other side, getting into the truck. As they settled in, he reached to his feet to pick up a bag. Rose watched curiously as he dug into it, bringing out a box. He held it out towards her and she opened it. Her face turned pale. "What... what is this?"

"Do you dislike it?"

"No, it's just..."

"I got it while I was getting us lunch."

Her eyes snapped to him. She didn't know what to say. It was clear what the object was. "And you want me to... wear it?"

"Why else would I have bought it for you?"

Her fingers trailed along the silken fabric of the object. It was a collar, a thin red ribbon tightly laced around it; a small bell dangled from it, tinkling as she peeled it out of its case. It looked like something a cat would wear. Her fingers tightly gripped it. She couldn't wear this in public, could she? Her glance at Lucius proved that she would have to; he rose an eyebrow before taking it from her hands, unclipping it. His hands caressed her neck as he slid it over, tightly clipping it on; the bell jingled gently as he pulled away. She could hear him suck in a breath. Rose's hand softly touched the bell; it was cool against the tips of her fingers. "Hm."

She uncomfortably looked back up at Lucius, who was aggressively staring at her. "It was quite expensive, so please do try not to lose it." He spoke with the tone of a gentleman despite his age. Rose glanced to the steering wheel, wondering why they weren't moving. "There's something else..." He hesitated for a moment, before digging back into the bag. "Can you please show yourself to me?" His face was a slight red, but it took Rose a minute to realize what he was asking as her face flushed red as well. Rose froze, but that didn't seem to be the answer that Lucius wanted from her. "You agreed to this." He murmured. 

Rose nodded. She was shy; she was unsure what to do because normally with Murdoc she just got into it. However, she worked her pants down to her ankles, looking up at Lucius with fear in her eyes. His eyes were on her completely; he wasn't moving away as her panties soon followed. 

"Spread your legs." 

Her back was against the car door as she slowly opened her legs, her face red. Her heartbeat sped up and she gasped as his finger grazed against her cunt. Lucius was looking straight at it, his expression telling her all she needed to know. He was gentle, simply prodding at her. He withdrew his fingers before sliding them into his mouth, his tongue sliding across them before he slipped them out with a pop. He slid those two fingers inside her and Rose's back arched as she moaned. His fingertips slid across her inner walls expertly, gentle yet the method gaining more pleasure on Rose's part. 

"As much as I'd love to devour you right here," He reached back into the bag, pulling out a small pink object about the size of a skipping stone, "We have quite an adventure that I've planned for tonight." His fingers slipped through her entrance again, sliding the object inside. She gasped at the coldness. He gestured for her to redress, starting the car. Rose wasn't too sure about what he'd put inside her, but she did as he asked. "Fuck." He murmured into his fist. "You're quite lovely, Rose. Both inside and out." 

Rose was uncertain, for sure. A part of her told her not to go with him, but she'd be damned if she didn't say that Lucius had skill; maybe even more so than Murdoc. Murdoc was rough, forceful, a little more feral. Lucius, well, Lucius was calculated. He clearly knew where to touch, what to do. He seemed to plan things out hours before he did them. As they pulled out of the driveway, Lucius' window slid down. Rose's eyes went to the lights of the city, as they always did, which were blurring and mixing together. It was as much of a kaleidoscope of light as it was of thoughts; her mind blurred them together.

She didn't hear Lucius ask his question the first time. "Huh?" She rose her head, her eyes trained on him and he scoffed. Rose cursed herself for not paying attention.

"I asked how you got so beat up."

Rose froze up. The sound of a scream and rushing water. The stream behind her house. How had she forgotten that? Even for a second? More guilt bubbled up to the surface and as she gazed into Lucius' eyes like a deer in the headlights she swore she saw her own memory of that exact day reflected in them. 

The worst day of her life. As the truck jolted she was brought back to the present rather than remaining lost in the past; she knew she had to say something. All Rose knew is the memory that had suddenly returned to her of her greatest, evilest misdeed, the one that should've always weighed on her shoulders the most, was now going to weigh her down further. She'd forgotten, but why? Maybe it was the shock of what she'd done.

"A fight."

"You don't seem like the type."

"You never know when the devil's going to crawl into your bed."

Lucius laughed as Rose used the exact same phrasing he had; it was his own metaphor, turned against him. He bit his lip, sighing, before nodding. "Fair." His head turned to her a little, his hand resting on the steering wheel. "Is the devil crawling into my bed?"

Rose wasn't sure how to reply to that. "Is he crawling into mine?"

"You never know." Yeah. Rose hadn't known. That was why she'd crawled into Murdoc's. Hell, why she'd crawled into 2-D's. Would this guy be just another devil to crawl into hers? She clearly didn't have much experience with letting an angel into her bed. Maybe there was one out there. Maybe this guy would be more of an angel, less of a devil. Maybe she was the devil incarnate, especially with the memory that weighed so heavily on her mind. 

"I'm not going to-" Lucius took a deep breath, fixing his hand's position on the steering wheel. "I'm not going to hurt you, Rose. Whatever you aren't telling me, I won't judge you for it. I happen to know that people don't just bite one another on the neck when getting in a fight." 

Rose flushed red. Of course, he'd noticed. Maybe Charla had even noticed. She groaned, sighing, her good arm's palm sliding up her face and through her hair. "If there's anything I've learned, someone who says that they won't hurt you," Her mind went to 2-D, "Are the people most likely to do so."

Lucius pulled into the parking lot of what seemed to be a medium-class restaurant. "Not my first choice of food, but it's good to try new things. And Rose?" As he opened his own door and she was opening hers, he turned to her. "I can assure you, I may not be a saint," He chuckled, as if recounting a personal joke regarding his illicit activities and his disbelief of religion, "But I will always keep my word. No matter what the circumstance." 

Something about that settled her a little. Made Rose feel like she could trust him. A little voice in the back of her mind, however, was screaming for her to go home and hide under the covers. The instant her feet hit the ground she began to feel the thing inside her shift; she rubbed her legs together, her face growing even more flushed. Lucius swept around the car, quickly wrapping his arm around her waist and steadying her. "Take it slow. You're not going to be used to this type of stimulation." She was glad he at least cared that much. With a heavy mind and heart she pushed the memory out of her mind; not for tonight. She'd like to enjoy a guiltless night for just a little more.

They walked towards the restaurant and Lucius slid his other hand into his pocket as he pushed through the door with his shoulder. A type of jazzy sixties music was playing on the stereo overhead; they'd walked in on the middle of the song. Lucius guided them straight to the counter. "I've got a reservation." 

The attendant looked up, startled before a blush settled across her face. "Right, you're the man that came in this afternoon. You're under the name-" 

"Yes, yes, just lead us to our table." Lucius interrupted, impatient. The girl's blush faded into a slight glare as she let out a huff and led them into the almost-empty restaurant. As they walked up the stairs, to the bar area, Rose's mouth almost dropped open; in the middle of lilies, candles burned. There were rose petals scattered around the table. For someone who simply wanted to have sex with her, he was making it quite romantic. Lucius pulled out Rose's chair for her, allowing her to sit down, before getting in his own chair. 

The song changed and Lucius' eyes lit up. "Ah, I love this track." 

Rose swore it was familiar, but she couldn't remember for the life of her from where. "What's it called?"

"Stand By Me, by Ben E. King. But this is Otis' Redding's adaption, a personal favorite cover of the original. It was recorded on October twenty-seventh, nineteen-sixty. Since then it gained approval when it was used in the nineteen-eighty-six film-" Lucius paused, his face flushing red again. "Sorry. I'm a bit of a history buff." 

Rose rested her hands on her palms, leaning forwards. She loved the fact he knew so much about the song. "No, it's amazing that you'd love something so much that you'd actually memorize it." He smiled slightly, his eyes falling a little to hide his embarrassment. There was still that same blush, but Rose couldn't describe it as anything other than cute. How much more of this could she take? "You know, not many men are as gentlemanly nowadays."

Lucius' eyes rose back to hers. "I'm not like them." Rose simply nodded; she could tell. There was something different, special, about Lucius that she couldn't put her finger on. Maybe it was more of the fact she didn't know all that much about him. When it came to it, it made her want to know Murdoc and 2-D further. She'd shared a bed with them but she didn't even know what type of music they liked. She'd never actually taken an interest in their interests because she thought all they enjoyed was all they were. She swore she'd try harder when she got home.

The waitress came by, pen and pad in hand. "How can I help you?" Rose opened the menu. There was a sort of tomato soup and parmesan that looked extremely delicious; as she opened her mouth to say something, the thing inside her moved against her walls, buzzing, causing her to slam her head down on her table to hide her expression. "Oh my god, are you alright?" What the hell was this? What was it doing to her? She gripped the menu tightly, her knuckles turning white as she tried to resist the urge to moan. 

It stopped.

"It's fine, she hasn't been feeling well all day."

Glancing up, she saw what had to have been the biggest smile yet to cross Lucius' face. He was doing this somehow. But how? Rose took a moment to adjust herself, recovering from the onslaught of pleasure. "I'll... I'll have the tomato soup with parmesan." She murmured, trying to regain her strength.

"Make that two."

The waitress quickly scribbled down the order. "Alright, we're not that busy so it should be ready soon enough." With a bounce in her step, she walked away. 

"What's wrong, Rose?" The look on Lucius' face let Rose know he knew EXACTLY what was wrong. "Is there a problem?"

"I-"

Her head hit the table as she gasped, the vibrations moving inside of her, almost falling off her chair as she let something out a mix between a whimper and a moan. "Mmm... what was that? Didn't hear you." As she opened her mouth again the vibrations got more intense and she let out a moan. A customer at the bar turned their head, confused as to where these sounds were coming from. The feeling stopped once more. 

"What the hell?" She whispered, finding it harder to breathe normally. Her hand rested on the table. 

"How long until you think that you're going to beg for it?"

"I don't know what you mean."

She knew exactly what he meant.

"We both know you're not that innocent."

"How long are we staying?"

"Until we finish our dinner." She let out a sigh. Admittedly she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to stand it; she was sure that she was already soaked by now. At this point, the minute they'd get in the door he'd be able to fuck her with no trouble. "Unless you'd like to leave now?"

She didn't want to sound too eager. Rose was starving, so she shook her head. 

He gestured to the table, which had a white cloth draped over it to make the cover; her eyes followed his gesture but she looked back up at him, puzzled. "If you want something to keep your mouth occupied while we wait for food..."

Oh. That was what he meant. Oh.

"You mean...?"

He rose an eyebrow, shrugging at her response.

"Suit yourself."

Rose's hands curled into fists; a part of her knew this was absolutely crazy, but a part of her wanted him now. She took a shaky breath, glancing around the restaurant to check if anyone was looking. The last thing she saw before disappearing under the cloth was Lucius' smirk. 

Underneath the table, there wasn't very much light, but it did spill in from the edges and it was just enough for Rose to see both where she was going and Lucius' legs. They were already slightly spread. As she crawled forwards on her hands and knees, placing a single hand on his leg, he shifted. She fumbled with his belt, the cloth tucked against his stomach, before opening the zipper; there were his boxers, a simple black. She took a breath and pulled them down. She gasped and she thought she heard Lucius chuckle.

Her face turned white. Murdoc was slightly smaller than 2-D, around 5.1 inches if she remembered correctly. 2-D was a little bigger than Murdoc, probably 5.6 if she had to guess. At one point in time, she remembered 2-D and Murdoc arguing whose was bigger, so it was pretty much stained in her mind. However, on the other hand, Lucius would have to definitely be between six and seven inches. She'd never quite taken something of this length and she'd only slept with two men so far in her entire life. 

Still, she was sure he'd be impatient; as she reached out to touch it, her tongue slid across the tip of his cock. She heard him exhale, slightly, but it was still a reaction. Perhaps this may only be her second blowjob, but she was a little more educated now. It smelled clean enough; Lucius had a pleasant smell about him, a familiar smell that lured Rose in. Her lips pressed against the rim of his cock.

The vibrations, now being more intense than ever, caused her to pause, panting, holding in moans as she tried her best to quiet and steady herself. She heard the steps and saw the feet of the attendant. It couldn't be the waitress because the attendant had a fancier dress style. "May I help you?" Rose could hear Lucius' voice, but this time it was more annoyed than anything else. She placed his cock in her mouth, hoping to alleviate some of his annoyance. 

"Um... hi." The attendant's back of her left foot raised slightly as she shifted weight onto it. "I was just wondering. If you ever want to take out a real woman, that is." 

Lucius sighed. Rose was now stopping, withdrawing his cock from her mouth; it'd gone limp. Had she not done good enough of a job? Worry raced through her mind. "Look, I'm sure that you're a great person or whatever, but honestly, if I wanted a real woman the last woman I would look for is you." Rose almost laughed out loud but slapped a hand over her mouth. She heard the woman huff.

"Aren't you a little too young to be out this late? Does your mother know?"

"Does your husband know you're a whore?" Rose heard a gasp and the woman's feet backed away before receding. "Nobody's looking, you can come out now."

As Rose slid back up into her chair, Lucius adjusted his pants, making sure to zip them up. He smiled at her. "How'd you know she had a husband?"

"Saw the ring. You have fun down there?" He laughed when she flushed red. Lucius held a strip of paper in his hands, showing it to her. Numbers were scribbled onto the paper. She must've slid it to him, thinking he'd accept. As Rose blushed, she watched him tear the paper into two. He let the pieces flutter to the ground without even giving the scraps so much as a second glance. "I'm the type who dislikes disloyalty. If someone's disloyal to another person, how do I expect them to be to me?"

That was understandable. Still, how cold Lucius had been was amazing; he'd pretty much handed her ass to her. Rose had never seen anyone dismiss people like that so casually. The waitress came by, both soups finding their way in front of Rose and Lucius. She quickly ground the parmesan on top of it before smiling to the both of them and walking away. "Enjoy your meal!"

"I dislike gaudy girls," Lucius said as he rose the spoon to his mouth. "Mmm. Good choice." Rose was a little surprised; Luc was not only perceptive but he had... unique tastes for a seventeen-year-old boy. He was a gentleman when he wanted to be, but he could also be a downright asshole. Rose didn't know how to categorize him let alone who he was and it was driving her crazy.

Their supper was quite peaceful; it seemed like the vibrations had stopped. As they finished up, Lucius got the cheque; Rose would've insisted on splitting in but before she could even open her mouth Lucius had glared at her and with a, "Shut up", he'd silenced her before she'd even begun to protest.

As he stood up he offered his hand to her, which she took gratefully, using it to pull herself up. The night had been... surprisingly pleasant. Even with all of the more sexual undertones, she felt like she'd learned more about who Lucius was as a person. Still, there was one piece of the puzzle missing. Why sex? He didn't seem lonely. He'd also basically said he was bored of it. She had the money. He could get any kind of girl in his bed especially with his way of doing things. 

As they walked past the attendant, a glint caught Rose's eye; it was her necklace. Rose's eyes strayed down to her hand, a force of habit when she had subconscious questions on her mind. Lucius had said that the woman had a ring on, but if she had, it wasn't there now. Her brows furrowed into a frown; Luc wouldn't lie, would he? Maybe she took it off to flirt with other customers. How else would he have known she was married? 

God, she was being silly. Of course the woman took it off when Lucius noticed, to make sure nobody else she tried to pick up saw the ring. Would've probably put a damper on her plans. Lucius was comforting to have beside her; even though they were in pitch black, striding across the parking lot, whether she felt safe or not wasn't a question. He was tall; there was no doubt that he definitely stood as high, if not higher than, 2-D. 

As he climbed into his pickup, Rose followed. They were seated in the front and Lucius didn't seem to even turn on the car; he simply stared forward, lips pursed, gripping the steering wheel. Rose remembered their little interruption; she was worried he no longer wanted to go through with their deal. Although, honestly, she'd be lying if she said she didn't want it for a little more than the promise of the drugs. "I've never taken someone home before."

"Will that be a problem?"

"No, I just..." He leaned back into his seat. "Well, my parents are gone."

"...Gone?"

"Honestly, it was always just my dad. But then he left too. Well, he didn't leave, he pushed me out. So I had to make my own way." So he didn't have the best upbringing. "We didn't see things the same way, you know? Always butting heads until eventually, he had to set an example of me for my siblings." 

Rose wasn't sure what to say; her father had always been more possessive of her than anything else. Kind of like how he didn't let her have friends; how he caused the neighbors to move away because they had a daughter her age. Hell, he'd let her go to school but that was it. When she turned eighteen, she knew she'd never be leaving the house unless he was dead. Maybe some kids would love to remain at home, but she wasn't allowed to listen to music, go outside for more than an hour or even leave her room for a set amount of time. He'd been overcontrolling. In a way he still was. 

However, underneath the controlling part laid a much darker truth, one she didn't want to acknowledge. A memory so disturbing that a part of her forgot it so she didn't have to face it. Killing Lacy had been bad. Horrid. Disturbing. But this topped that. A chill ran through her blood; she wanted to forget again. 

 

As the car started, once more pulling Rose from the past, she turned to Lucius. A small smile crept across her face as she glanced at him and he smiled back. The road to Lucius' place was simple; the neighborhood was run-down, though. As they pulled into the parking lot, a single street lamp flickered overhead. As Rose and Lucius stepped out of the car, the bulb burst, sending glass dropping down onto the pickup. Rose screamed, surprised by the suddenness of it; however, Lucius was calm as he muttered, "Relax. Happens all the time around here. It's a bit of a tradition for gangsters to throw knives at street lights, probably just chipped the bulb open and air mixed with gas and it exploded just now."

 

Rose was surprised how much Lucius knew about this sort of subject. Again, she found herself calmed by his interference; something about him had that effect on her, like nothing bad could touch her when he was around. He began to walk towards an alley, while Rose followed him. It was a little run down, a dumpster against one of the walls and a stray overturned trashcan in the middle of it, litter strewn across the ground. Lucius stepped over it with little to no problem, while Rose had to hop over it. 

He turned the alley and onto a fire escape; he motioned for Rose to follow. As they climbed to the third floor, he propped open a window and waved her through it; she found herself tumbling into his room. It wasn't clean, but it wasn't messy, either. Yesterday's clothes were on the floor and his bed was unmade, a bowl of cereal beside a laptop. And god, the plants. Vines crawled along the roof of his apartment, leaving his room... they possibly ran through his entire apartment. A bunch of Cacti were near the closet, while morning glories sat on top of his desk and another plant that sported berries was by his windowsill. She'd seen it behind her house, near the river. In her mother's plant books, too. "Belladonna?" She questioned, wondering why anyone would want to grow such a poisonous plant.

Another plant caught her eye, which she strayed to. False Helleborine. She rose an eyebrow, staring at Lucius in disbelief. "I admire poisonous plants. They become such to protect themselves, not realizing that they've intoxicated themselves in the process. Did you know that in, uh, Indian tribes, people would actually eat these," He leaned down and brushed a hand across a petal, admiring it for its subtle beauty, "And the last to throw up from the effects of poison would be the new leader of the tribe?"

Rose, astounded yet again. "You're amazing, you know that?" They took a minute to stare at each other. Lucius tapped his finger against the plant.

"Fuck."

"What?"

"Let's just do something absolutely insane."

"Like what?"

"Get lost in each other." 

His lips were against hers. His hands running up and down her sides. Rose was bewildered; the hunger she hadn't experienced as much before was now there, powerful, consuming her wholly. He wasn't rough, but his teeth sunk into her lip, drawing forth a small well of blood. She felt too much pleasure to even recognize the pain; his kiss drew her in. His hands firmly gripped her ass and she moaned into his mouth as he squeezed. He pulled her into his lap, causing her to straddle him. Their kisses deepened, the only sounds slight groans escaping Lucius as they rubbed against one another. As Lucius flipped her down, pinning her to the ground, he was between her legs. His hand trailed down her shirt before pushing underneath the hem, his fingers splaying out over her belly. God, his touch. She could get addicted to this. 

He put slight pressure on it, nothing that would hurt her, but she felt every movement of his hand exploring her body; it reached upwards, squeezing gently at one of her breasts. A gasp escaped her lips. As he withdrew himself, she whimpered impatiently. He pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side as he turned back to her, enjoying her hands sliding down his chest, her fingers sliding across the ridges of his countless scars. Her hands trailed down to the hem of his jeans and he smirked. "Impatient, are we?" He tugged down her pants, his finger digging into her, pulling out the object as he tossed it across the room. It bounced, rolling, laying beside the closet door; but they weren't paying attention to that. The jingle of his belt, a special music that only Rose could appreciate, the thwaps, signified he was ready. 

In a way, both were drunk on something a little more than lust. He pulled his pants down, his boxers coming down with them; he crawled forwards, pressing himself against Rose. His cock rubbed against her cunt and she gasped, almost whining, her expression showing Lucius that she wanted it. With no further trigger, Lucius pushed himself inside her. Finally, Rose let out a loud moan, one she'd been holding in all night; his cock stretched open her walls and she threaded her fingers through his hair. She felt how hard he was inside her, every thrust causing her to take a shaky breath and exhale only moans. 

"Fuck!" She hissed, her hands sliding down to his back, her nails scratching down it; his own breathy groans in her ear as he sped up, bucking his hips against hers. The fact he was panting so loudly meant that she was probably doing something right; her pussy tightened around him and she felt like she was about to see stars; she felt his fingers get knotted in her hair, pulling her head backward as his lips grazed against her neck. She let out a scream as he hit a good spot inside her, his teeth sinking over one of Murdoc's bites. She didn't even realize how heavily she was bleeding, but his lips pressed against hers once more and she tasted the iron of her own blood. Another few screams, loud grunts from him, the slap of his hips against her ass and he came to a stop, his chest heaving. She felt the warmth spill into her without warning. She let out a final moan, her head falling back onto the floor as she tried to catch her breath. 

As Lucius pulled out, so did his warmth as he rolled over, falling onto the floor beside her, his chest heaving up and down. He began to chuckle. "Calling me impatient," Rose laughed, referring to the fact that they were on the floor. He turned to her, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Well, maybe I would've made it to the bed had you not been begging for me so much." 

"Begging?" She playfully hit his chest, her giggle echoing through the empty room. His lips pressed against hers and she welcomed it. As both broke away, a telltale smile had seemingly infected them both. Another little burst of giggles from them both and Rose sat up, pulling her pants up. "You're the one who couldn't even wait until we got our clothes off." 

He shrugged. "Unlike other girls, you actually seem interested in the who, not only the dick and the drugs." His eyes were sad, but they flicked to her. "Admittedly, even those who are interested in the who tend to escape me. But not you."

"Not me?"

"I don't think you'll run away if I show you me,"

Rose took a moment to think. Her thought process was a bit flawed, but she was sure Lucius couldn't be a bad person; he definitely wasn't the devil in her bed. The man liked to garden, for fuck sakes. And holy shit, he could fuck her better than anyone else had in her life. "I may not run away but I am tonight. I really need to get home before Murdoc leaves a thousand calls." True, if Murdoc couldn't find her and needed something from her he'd definitely call her. Lucius' grin faded, as he sighed.

"Yeah. Him."

"Are you sure you don't have a problem with Murdoc?"

"Maybe a little problem."

"Ha! I knew it."

Lucius rose an eyebrow as he pulled up his jeans, quickly zipping them up and threading his belt back through the loops. It was clear he didn't want to talk about it anymore. He walked over to his closet. "What's your damage? I've got painkillers, coke, weed, anything really." Rose bit her lip. Although the idea of painkillers was good to her...

"I think it's a good idea for me to go cold turkey for a little while."

Lucius turned to her, a look of surprise on his face. "But you paid for it in full."

She shook her head. "Honestly, it's best that I don't. Besides, tonight was lovely. You showed me a good time and... maybe we can do it again sometime."

A smirk broke out on Lucius' face. "Rose, you're quite the interesting girl." A buzzing sound broke both of them out of their little moment; Lucius swept to the bedside table, picking up his phone while frowning. "One minute, I have to take this." He picked it up and brushed past her, towards the door; Rose crept close, knowing that she probably shouldn't, but still was curious as to what jilted him so much that he made such a face. Peeking out, watching him pace around the floor. "No, no, I... No." He seemingly responded to the person on the other line before letting out a frustrated sigh. "Stop calling." 

As Lucius hung up, Rose stepped out from her hiding spot. "Ex-girlfriend?" 

He looked at her, pausing. "Something like that, yeah. Let's go." 

As they climbed down the fire escape and started to walk towards the alley, Lucius grabbed Rose's arm. "Let's go this way."

"But the car's right there." She pointed at his pickup truck, the outline as clear as day.

"Yeah, but it's a bit dark. Might trip over something, you know?" He glanced nervously at the alley.

"What, you afraid?" Rose teased, stepping into the darkness of the alley. Lucius followed after her as she stepped through it, her back facing the pickup truck; his face turned pale as he ran towards Rose, pushing her to the side. The sound of gunfire rang out and Lucius dropped to the ground. Rose screamed, dropping to the floor, scrambling away from Lucius. 

Her eyes widened as she looked up.

"Miss me?"


	39. Phase One, Chapter Twenty Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufAhYuTepHk  
> Misso - Twisted.

"Lucius!" Rose screamed, tears streaking down her face. She didn't know how to react, didn't know whether to crawl forwards or run. Still, her father stepped forwards. She may not be able to see his form properly but she sure as hell knew what his voice sounded like. She wanted to pull out her hair, scream at her father, run away. She did nothing. 

Nick Badling chuckled as he lit a cigarette, holding his gun under his arm. Taking a quick puff, he tossed the gun to the side. "I'd rather enjoy this than having it end so quickly. After all, I've had a target escape me all of two times. Separate targets, really, but I'm more used to having a sniper rifle in hand than a pistol." He shrugged, a sloppy, happy grin crossing his face. "It's over, m'girl. This is the end of the road." Maybe Rose should have moved. But she couldn't. She was shaking, terrified gasps escaping her lips, the only words to tumble out having been or still would be Lucius' name. 

Further guilt hit her. Another person, gone because of her. Lucius was facing downwards on the pavement, away from her, unmoving. Not even breathing. All she knew was she couldn't see his chest rising and falling but maybe she was just shaking so much and the tears were getting in the way of her view so much, making the world blurry, making it close in and oh god she didn't want to have to open her eyes anymore-

Rose took a shaky breath, trying to make a move but her arms betrayed her, her knees refused to carry her weight. As Nick took a step towards Rose, she let out a mortified whimper. "Guess you've got questions. Well, let's start with how I knew you were here. Let's say I made a bit of a deal," He grinned, nodding towards Lucius, "And someone tried to cancel out last minute."

No. No, no, no. Lucius wouldn't have. He couldn't. Her heart dropped. The reason why he'd been so insistent on not walking through the alley. Rose let out a pained scream. Everything inside her that she'd kept locked up. It was a scream of rage, of sadness, of terror. All directed at Nick. "Won't help you much, girl." Nick cracked his neck. "As for your whore of a mother, she tried to leave me, you know? I saw right through her little act."

Rose's heart stopped. Had her mother tried to leave Nick? Without even telling Rose? Did she even intend on taking her along? The crack of her father's knuckles snapped her eyes back to him. "I'm going to enjoy beating you to death. Wanna know something else? I'm not even your father." The laugh that escaped Nick's lips was nothing short of psychotic as the news really sunk in. "So, here I was, all this time, thinking that you and her were mine. Up until you were fourteen, really, when I learned the truth." He raised his hand into the air, curling it into a fist as he took a sharp breath before laughing cynically. "But that bitch had a lover. You're a child of Abbadon and a whore, you fucking curse!" Nick spat. "I was right. I carved those words on your arm and I was right. May be hidden by a cast right now, you fucking demon bitch, but others will come to see too." 

Her father was absolutely fucking crazy. Her breaths grew ragged as her anger reached the highest level possible. Fuck. It. She was going to die anyways. "You were a piece of shit as a father, a psychopath! The things you'd make me do. Fuck you! I enjoyed every moment I slid that fucking knife between your ribs you sick fuck! If anyone is a fucking demon, it's you!" 

The hatred in Nick's eyes was very clear. He smirked, taking another step forwards. "You'll meet your father in hell. Send him my best fucking regards." Nick was no longer playing; he charged towards Rose and Lucius tripped him, flipping over and smashing his face against the pavement. Rose gasped. 

"Are you alright?!" She rushed to his side, but he got up as if nothing was wrong.

"Relax, the bullet didn't hit me. See? Fine." He did a little twirl. Rose found herself giggling slightly, but she felt fucking crazy. She walked over to the gun, which she picked up and with a shaky hand, she aimed it at Lucius. "Whoa, what are you doing?"

"Start talking. I'm... I'm not a killer, but that doesn't mean I can't become one." Lucius took a step forward but Rose jerked back, the aim still on him. He sighed, putting his hands up.

"I don't actually have a job at Home Depot."

"No shit." 

"But I swear to you, Rose, I was never going to let him hurt you."

"Really? So you met me and you thought, let's not let the crazy fuck kill his daughter?"

"No, no. Then I... then, things were different." 

Rose sighed and the gun slid from her fingertips. It clattered to the ground as she dropped her arm. "Drive me home. After that, I never want to see your face again." Lucius, looking dejected, nodded. 

They left the unconscious Nick in the alley and Rose looked back.

The one thing she was certain of; she'd never be a killer.

~

The ride was mostly silent.

It seemed like neither of them wanted to acknowledge what had just happened, let alone talk about it. Rose was more or less upset with Lucius; more than upset. He'd almost gotten her killed tonight and she was still shaken from the encounter, questioning everything her father had told her. As they pulled up to Kong's glass doors, Rose got out of the car. She was walking away, but a part of her wanted to stop and turn around.

Still, she didn't stop. It was for the best.

Lucius watched as she disappeared behind the glass doors of Kong. 

A crow flew in through his open window and perched itself on the seat beside him. "He called you Abbadon." 

In the crow's place was a man who would've looked more in place had he been in the 1860's, his foot against the dash as he sighed. His eyes were the color that Rose's sported before he chuckled, shaking his head. "Worried you'd really gone senile, Luc. First off, fucking around with my daughter, then getting shot. Almost had me getting in the way." 

Lucius tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Well, Camio, I guess you don't owe me that favor." He hiked up his shirt, revealing a bullet hole. Black spilled from it; surely what one would consider blood but with a fouler, thicker consistency. His nails turned longer as he dove his fingernails into himself, ripping out the bullet without so much as a blink. He licked his lips, holding it up to admire it. "I've found something I like."

Camio's eyes dashed across Lucius' features. "She's my daughter, Lucius."

"It's not Lucius to you, Caym." Lucius started his pickup, pulling away from Kong before grinning out of the window, his eyes trained on Kong Studios. "You never know when the devil's gonna crawl into your bed, right?"


	40. Phase One, Chapter Twenty-Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If the story gets confusing from now on, please ask!!! The story will be branching in two different directions; the paranormal side and the 'normal' side. I promise that not every chapter will have spooks in it. xD  
> Also, like I've said, the plot is still a Gorillaz plot but it will remain as possibly true to realism as it can.  
> This chapter will be a bit different??? For those of you wondering how big the plot is, or when your characters will show up...
> 
> this fanfic is expected to have 3.5 million words.  
> just let that sink in  
> everything will make sense by the end.
> 
> By the way that's possibly about...  
> the entire harry potter series together has about 1m words.  
> 1.3m at the most.  
> so uh  
> yeah  
> have fun  
> it's not ending anytime soon
> 
> HOLY SHIT  
> WRITING THIS CHAPTER WAS  
> WELL  
> WOW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'I Like Me Better - Lauv'  
> https://youtu.be/a7fzkqLozwA

Murdoc, of course, was in a very bad mood when Rose finally stepped through the door. He'd been waiting all night for Rose to get home, leaning against the wall next to the stairs. As Rose burst through the doors, a disconnected look on her face, Murdoc took this as a chance to get in her way; he wanted answers. "Where'd you go with that ponce Lucius, huh?" The scowl on Rose's face and the silence between them only served to make Murdoc angrier. "Look, Rose, we're about to release our first album. You can't go off in the middle of the-"

"Shut the fuck up, Murdoc." Rose snapped. Murdoc's expression turned from angry to shocked and finally stopped at bewildered; for once, the angry, angsty, rude, alcoholic Satanist was at a loss for words. Rose, however, was sick of it all. Sick of the many devils she had crawling in her bed. Pushing by him, Murdoc didn't even raise a fuss; he didn't try to stop her. She'd never actually lashed out like that.

As Rose quickly ascended the stairs, she was assaulted by a part of her mind she wanted to drown by now. Still, instead of passing his room, she found herself in front of it. She remembered the man who held her through all her troubles. She rose her hand to knock on 2-D's door but lowered it, her fears playing with her heart; she glanced around the empty hall. Maybe it would be safer to not.

As she was contemplating, the door swung open and she came face to face with 2-D. His black orbs held her own and she tried opening her mouth to say something but she just let out a choked cry. Her arm wrapped around her torso as she shook, her expression saying all that 2-D would possibly be able to tell; his arms wrapped around her, pulling her into his room as he shut the door. "Rose, 's okay. What's going on?" Of course he'd be curious. But unlike Murdoc, he wouldn't press her for answers if she didn't respond.

When she didn't, he simply withdrew from her. She wondered what was wrong. "Rose. I.... I'm sorry, alright? In the woods. Back there, I... I let a bad part of me take me, you know? Everything just... Murdoc took another thing from me and I..."

Rose sighed. "I'm not just a thing, 2-D. That's what you don't understand, I'm a person."

He sunk into his bed, his eyes full of some sort of loss that Rose couldn't understand. Murdoc may have taken a great deal from her but she'd never understand 2-D's side of the story and for that she cursed herself. "I'm sorry."

Rose came to sit beside him on the bed, brushing a strand of hair from his face. She turned his face to her. "Can I sleep here tonight?" 2-D was a little surprised that she'd be this way; in fact, he felt like he was more being avoided than anything else. Something really bad must've happened if she was coming to him for comfort, especially with how much of an ass he'd been. He crawled underneath his covers, opening them up for her. She crawled in and he wrapped his arm around her.

Thunder cracked in the air and the door opened again; this caused the two to bring their attention to the door. Noodle stepped in, looking afraid; for as much of an independent child she was, of course she had limits. Everyone did; no person could be brave against the world. Rose signaled Noodle to climb in and she settled between 2-D and Rose. 2-D, feeling a little awkward at first, wasn't sure what to do until Rose slid her good arm under Noodle and 2-D and rested her cast on the girl who'd just settled into the bed. 2-D wrapped his arms around both. It felt different than he expected; somewhat like the way he felt when he'd crawled into his mother's lap when he was a kid. Maybe this was what family felt like?


	41. ANNOUNCEMENT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT BREAK ME

I am scrapping the confusing chapters! I'm going back to the drawing board. Not to say I don't love writing it, I just figure that I want to go with my original plans without the OCs. I apologize to those who worked hard to bring them in, but I need to go in a different direction! I hope you'll still support Break Me. Also, if you're into Murdoc, look at Philophobia and leave some kudos! 

 

Break Me will retain the beauty it had from the beginning and stop being shit here. xD I admit defeat, I dislike all of the OCs in it and the supernatural aspect. I will be adding supernatural stuff, just not right now.


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